World

Russian authorities have detained a ballerina from Los Angeles who they say is suspected of treason, over claims she took part in fundraising for Ukraine. Kseniya Karelina, a Russian-American ballerina, is being held by Russia, a senior US official told to Sky News’ US partner NBC News. The 33-year-old became a US citizen in 2021,

One of the world’s most prolific cyber crime gangs has been taken down by law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Europol and the UK’s National Crime Agency. Lockbit is an extortion website that held its victims’ data for ransom – some of the biggest UK bodies affected were the Royal Mail and the NHS. Five

Donald Trump has broken his silence on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – but avoided casting blame on President Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump, who drew criticism for praising the Russian ruler during his presidency, spoke out in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The former US president wrote on

The widow of former Russian Federal Security Service agent, Alexander Litvinenko, has said Vladimir Putin critics in Russia need support from the West. Marina Litvinenko’s husband, a prominent Putin critic, died in 2006 after being poisoned in London with Polonium 210, a rare and very potent radioactive isotope. The former FSB agent’s murder was suspected

A member of Israel’s war cabinet has indicated a ground invasion of Rafah may begin around Ramadan, which is expected to start on 10 March. Retired general Benny Gantz, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-member war cabinet, told a conference of Jewish American leaders: “If by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting

The boss of a mining company, which runs a gold mine where nine miners are missing after a massive landslide, has been detained by authorities in Turkey. Cengiz Demirci, Turkey director and senior vice-president of operations at the Denver-based SSR Mining, was detained on Sunday morning. Hundreds of rescue workers are searching for those trapped

Russian forces have taken complete control of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after months of intense fighting, the defence ministry has said. President Vladimir Putin congratulated troops on the development, labelling it a “success” and “important victory” just days away from the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence

Japan’s new H3 flagship rocket has reached orbit following a successful launch – in a key test almost a year after its debut flight failed. H3 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in the southwest of the country on Saturday morning, after a two-day delay due to bad weather. The rocket reached orbit at

Police in Russia have cracked down on people gathered to mark the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny – with one human rights group claiming that at least 100 people have been arrested. Footage and pictures from Russia’s two largest cities – Moscow and St Petersburg – showed officers ripping away placards from protesters and

The head of Ukraine’s army has announced his forces are retreating from the frontline city of Avdiivka. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, says military bosses have taken the decision to “avoid encirclement” and “preserve the lives and health of servicemen”. “Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve

US President Joe Biden has said he is “contemplating” steps to punish Moscow after he blamed Vladimir Putin and his “thugs” for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Mr Biden said he was “outraged” but “not surprised” by the death of the prominent Putin critic as he joined other world leaders in saying

Ukraine’s military has said outnumbered troops have been withdrawn from the eastern city of Avdiivka. The decision comes as battles escalate in the region, but Ukraine insists the withdrawal from the southeastern part of the city provides no strategic advantage for Russia. Speaking on Telegram, the commander of Ukraine’s southeastern sector Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said units

Singapore has done a deal to ensure Taylor Swift doesn’t perform anywhere else in southeast Asia, Thailand’s prime minister has claimed. Srettha Thavisin said promoter AEG informed him of the agreement that Swift will not do any other The Eras Tour shows in the Association of South East Asian Nations. Speaking at the iBusiness Forum

The Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny – a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin – has died, according to the prison service. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet

Greece has legalised same-sex marriage – becoming the first Orthodox Christian-majority country to do so. The landmark bill, drafted by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right government, passed on Thursday night with a cross-party majority of 176–76 votes. It also allows same-sex couples to legally adopt children, but will not allow gay men to acquire biological

Russia is secretly developing a new kind of satellite-killing space weapon, according to US intelligence watchdogs in Washington. The Biden administration is gathering highly sensitive information about the new capability, which is not yet operational but could potentially be a game changer in the war in Ukraine. Russia has denied the claims but the chair

The exchange of fire over Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is some of the most serious yet – but the situation remains fundamentally the same.  Hezbollah’s Iranian patrons do not want the militia to escalate the conflict to an all-out war. And its commanders want to avoid one too. Israel may be weighing a bigger

Vladimir Putin’s ambassador to the UK says the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which Russian forces razed to the ground, is now “beautiful” and “rebuilt”. In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Andrei Kelin also said Moscow has “no interest in Poland, Latvia, Estonia or any other countries” after NATO warned of future Russian

Global defence spending on everything from ammunition to nuclear weapons has jumped 9% to a record $2.2trn (£1.7trn) from a year earlier and will rise again in 2024 as the world enters “a more dangerous period”, new analysis has found. Russia – locked in a war with Ukraine – allocates more than 30% of annual

More than a million Palestinians sheltering around the southern city of Rafah are braced for an offensive by the Israeli army, with nowhere left to flee inside Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s says his office has ordered the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to develop a plan to evacuate the city and destroy four Hamas battalions