World

Australia has banned recreational vaping and tightened other e-cigarette laws in a huge crackdown on the tobacco industry as it tries to stop the rise in teenage vaping. The government wants to ban all disposable vapes, which often come in fruity flavours popular with young people, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and limit nicotine

The conflict in Sudan has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic – critical to the food, drinks and cosmetics industry. The northeastern African country is the world’s largest producer of gum arabic, a resin tapped from the acacia tree. It is a key ingredient in everything from fizzy

A ceasefire in Sudan has been extended for three more days despite continuing reports of heavy fighting in the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur. The truce between Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and military had been due to expire at midnight, but the US and Saudi Arabia brokered a new deal.

Spain is believed to have recorded its hottest ever April day. A temperature of 38.7C (101.66F) was provisionally recorded at Cordoba Airport on Thursday, according to the Met Office. The record was broken as the country continued to swelter extreme temperatures which also saw a horse die and another collapse while pulling passenger carriages through

Alexei Navalny, the jailed critic of Vladimir Putin, has said he is being investigated on terrorism charges that could see him sentenced to 30 years in prison. The Russian opposition leader is already serving sentences totalling 11 and half years on charges including fraud. In comments posted on Twitter by Mr Navalny’s aides, the Kremlin

An Uber Eats driver was dismembered after a “demonic” murder while delivering food, authorities have said. Oscar Solis Jr is accused of killing the driver during a delivery to his home in Pasco County in Florida. The victim’s remains were found in Solis’s house in bin bags and a cooler, which also contained a receipt

An investigation is under way after a research rocket fired from Sweden malfunctioned and ended up landing in Norway. The Norwegian foreign ministry has said its authorities take “any unauthorised activity” on its side of the border “very seriously”, according to reports. The rocket, which looked into weightlessness, had reached orbit at a height of

India is expected to be the world’s most populous country by the end of this month, eclipsing an aging China, according to the United Nations. The milestone comes at a time India is trying to promote itself as a rising international player as the host of this year’s G20 summit, and raises questions about whether

A new power line which could provide green electricity to 1.8 million homes is set to be built by the UK and the Netherlands as part of a plan to boost energy security. Officials claim the LionLink connection beneath the North Sea will be the “world’s largest multi-use electricity power line”. It will connect the

Spain could experience its hottest ever day for the month of April this week with forecasters predicting temperatures of up to 40C (104F). Record-breaking temperatures are expected between Wednesday and Friday with temperatures reaching levels normally seen in July. The extreme conditions will follow the driest March in 20 years in some areas which has

German climate activists have glued themselves to streets all over Berlin this morning in a bid to bring traffic to a standstill. Members of the group Last Generation have repeatedly blocked roads across Germany over the past year to pressure the government into taking further action against climate change. Activists have glued themselves to the

US troops have carried out an evacuation of American embassy staff from Sudan’s capital as fighting between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary group continues for a ninth day. About 70 American nationals have been successfully flown from a landing zone at the US Embassy in Khartoum to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, an

A German publisher has apologised for publishing an AI-generated interview with Michael Schumacher. Funke magazines is also firing the editor of Die Aktuelle over the “tasteless and misleading article” which it now says should “never have appeared”. Managing director Bianca Pohlmann said the piece “does not in any way correspond to the standards of journalism

People in Bangkok and other areas of Thailand have been warned not to go outside due to extreme heat. It hit 42C (100F) in the capital on Saturday, but the national weather service said the heat index – what the temperature feels like when combined with humidity – hit a record 54C (129F). April is

Intense violence continues to rock Sudan a week after fighting first erupted between its army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force. More than 400 people have been killed and at least 3,500 injured in the violence, according to the United Nations. The capital city Khartoum remains at the epicentre of the conflict, with

The West has committed to support Ukraine’s battle against the Russian invasion, but what can Ukraine realistically expect to achieve with its forthcoming offensive? Will the West continue to perpetuate an unwinnable war for Ukraine, or is the forthcoming battle simply a way to move the frontline in anticipation of some form of truce or

Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to be held accountable for the Ukrainian children who have been taken from their homeland, the US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice has told Sky News. Beth Van Schaack claims Russia is systematically moving children out of Ukraine. According to Yale University’s Conflict Observatory, more than 6,000 have been moved

A competition encouraging children to kill as many cats as possible has been cancelled following a backlash. A prize of £124 was on offer for the youngster who managed to shoot the most feral felines in New Zealand. But critics of the North Canterbury Hunting Competition feared household pets could end up being targeted because

India is on track to surpass China as the most populated country in the world, according to United Nations data. India is expected to have have 1.4286 billion people compared with China‘s 1.4257 billion by the middle of 2023, the UN population dashboard indicated – that is 2.9 million more people in the South Asian

Vladimir Putin has visited occupied areas of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed last year, the Kremlin has said. The Russian president attended a military command meeting in Kherson region and visited national guard in Luhansk. It is not clear when the visits took place. Putin visits Ukraine to ‘listen to Russian troops’ – Ukraine war