World

Japan’s imperial family has made its Instagram debut, in an effort to shake off their reclusive image and reach out to younger people on social media. The Imperial Household Agency, a government agency in charge of the family’s affairs, posted 60 photos and five videos showing Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s public appearances over the

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party suffered its worst defeat in more than two decades in power in local elections held this weekend. With most of the votes counted, Mr Erdogan‘s main rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, led by 10 percentage points in the mayoral race in Istanbul. His Republican People’s Party (CHP) retained Ankara by a

Last spring, the mood in Ukraine was upbeat. The West had rallied to President Zelenskyy’s call for military support to enable a spring offensive, and there was an air of optimism that Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine was to be defeated. Russia-Ukraine latest: Putin signs conscription decree However, a year on, the much-anticipated Ukrainian spring

Donald Trump has requested a Georgia court review a ruling allowing an attorney who had a romantic relationship with a prosecutor to remain on his election interference case. The former president is accused of illegally trying to interfere in the 2020 election in Georgia. Along with his fellow defendants, he had tried to get the

Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will return to the negotiating table for a new round of ceasefire talks with Hamas. Several sets of negotiations have so far failed to find a deal that would see Israel pause its military offensive in return for the release of the remaining hostages taken by the Iranian-backed militant group

Researchers have used DNA to reconstruct the face of a Chinese emperor and shed light on what might have caused his death. Emperor Wu was a ruler of the Northern Zhou dynasty in ancient China, reigning from 560 AD until 578, defeating the Northern Qi dynasty and unifying the northern part of the country. The

The head of one of Haiti’s most powerful gangs, and the de-facto head of a consortium of gangs that have brought Port-au-Prince to a standstill has told Sky News he would consider a ceasefire and talks on the political future of the country if they were included. But Jimmy Cherizier, known universally as “Barbecue”, has

The presidents of France and Brazil – both wearing white open-necked shirts – have been pictured smiling warmly at each other and embracing, with social media users calling it a “bromance”. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clutched Emmanuel Macron’s hand as he led him through some difficult terrain on the island of Combu in the

Russia was the only nation to veto the annual renewal of a panel of experts who monitor the enforcement of longstanding UN sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities. The block comes as the US has accused Pyongyang of transferring weapons to the Kremlin, which Russia has used in the

The melting of polar ice due to human-driven climate change has slightly slowed the Earth’s rotation – and it could affect how we measure time, according to a study. Although the disappearance of the ice has reduced the speed of the planet’s rotation, the Earth is still spinning a bit faster than it used to.

CCTV video and marine tracking data shows the Dali container ship lose power, adjust its course and start smoking before hitting the Baltimore bridge. The Singapore-flagged container ship left the Port of Baltimore at around 12.45am local time. It’s destination was Colombo in Sri Lanka. In just over four minutes, the vessel changes course, loses

Apple, Meta and Google’s parent company are being investigated by the European Union under new laws designed to clamp down on the market power of the world’s tech giants. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force at the beginning of March and aims to tackle “gatekeeping” behaviour among tech giants. If the companies are

Aid groups claim doctors are facing an “unimaginable” situation inside a hospital in southern Gaza and have had to deal with shortages of even basic medical supplies. The groups say surgeons visiting Gaza‘s European Hospital have reported treating patients with “large infected open wounds”. In other cases, they say doctors have had to administer emergency

Ecuador’s youngest mayor and an aide were shot dead on Sunday, police in the South American country have said. Brigitte Garcia, 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and her communications director Jairo Loor, were found dead in Manabi province, officers said. Police added that the pair had both suffered gunshot wounds and that the gunfire had

The head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency has said it’s “outrageous” Israel will block its aid deliveries to northern Gaza. UNRWA boss Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had told the United Nations that convoys would no longer be approved. It comes after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in October’s Hamas terror attack. Nine

Russia is holding a day of national mourning following Friday’s concert hall massacre near Moscow, as relatives of the missing face an anxious wait to see if their loved ones survived the gun rampage. Public events have been cancelled and flags are being flown at half-mast following the deadliest attack on the country’s soil in

More than 100 students and staff kidnapped by gunmen from a school in Nigeria more than two weeks ago have been rescued by the army – but many more appear to still be missing. Security forces said they freed 137 hostages in the early hours of Sunday. It comes following a mass abduction in the

Four gunmen are among 11 people arrested following a shooting massacre in a packed Moscow concert hall, according to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Videos broadcast on Russian media appear to show the detention and violent interrogation of the suspects. In one piece of footage a man was marched out of a forest, his face covered

Vladimir Putin has claimed the gunmen behind the Moscow concert hall terror attack attempted to flee to Ukraine in the aftermath of the mass shooting. The allegation, made by the Russian president during an address to the nation, came despite the Islamist terror group Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) claiming responsibility for Friday night’s attack, in

Malaysia has rejected an offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games – putting it at risk of being cancelled for the first time since the Second World War. Officials said the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) offer of £100m in funding was insufficient and they had not been left with enough time to plan. Malaysia, which