World

Madagascar is set to castrate child rapists after its parliament passed a controversial law last week. The Indian Ocean island’s senate approved the law which will allow for chemical, and in certain cases, surgical castration of those found guilty of raping a minor. It must now be ratified and then signed into law by President

The chief executive of one of Nigeria’s largest banks is believed to have been killed along with his wife and son when a helicopter they were riding in crashed in Southern California’s Mojave Desert. Herbert Wigwe, chief executive of Access Bank, and his family were among six people on board when the charter flight went

Israel has been warned of repercussions if its military launches a ground invasion in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, while Israel has suggested civilians could evacuate and find refuge in tent camps which are not yet built. The warning came after Israeli air strikes killed at least 44 Palestinians, including more than a dozen children,

Pakistan is in political limbo after an election result that few in the establishment predicted. Independent candidates backed by Imran Khan‘s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) have delivered a major upset. Many seemed to underestimate the level of discontent and desire for change in a country that’s experienced years of turbulence. The army generals who have

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi has been named as the new chief of Ukraine’s army.  The 58-year-old was promoted by Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he removed General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi from the post after months of friction between the pair. Mr Syrskyi has played a key role in some of Ukraine’s biggest victories – but has also faced

Vladimir Putin has said Bill Clinton misled him over Russia’s potential membership of NATO two decades ago. During a lengthy interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Russian president said he asked the outgoing President Clinton if his country could join the alliance when he visited the Kremlin in 2000. He claims

Alexei Navalny has become the latest in a string of deaths of critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Over his more than two decades at the top of the Kremlin, a number of Mr Putin’s opponents have suffered unfortunate fates – including being jailed, shot dead in the street, or poisoned with tea spiked with

Russia’s main election authority has banned an anti-war candidate from standing in the country’s upcoming presidential election. Boris Nadezhdin, a local legislator in a town near Moscow, was required by law to gather at least 100,000 signatures in support of his candidacy. But the Central Election Commission said more than 9,000 signatures submitted by Mr

The caretaker prime minister of Pakistan has told Sky News there is no attempt to “target a specific party or group” amid claims of pre-poll rigging and candidate harassment. Speaking on the eve of the election, Anwar ul Haq Kakar did acknowledge they couldn’t totally guarantee free and fair elections. “Absolute is a very relative

A group of the Middle East’s football associations has asked world football chiefs to ban Israel over the war on Hamas in Gaza, according to a letter seen by Sky News. But the Israeli Football Association has urged FIFA to keep politics out of sport and allow them to continue trying to qualify for the

Polling stations have opened in Pakistan in a general election which has already been marred by violence and allegations of fraud. On the eve of Thursday’s election, bombs struck two political offices in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 30 people. Tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed at polling stations to

A US drone strike in Baghdad has killed three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, according to US officials. The drone strike hit a car in the Iraqi capital – and was in response to a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan towards the end of January.

More than 100 dead cats have reportedly been discovered in a freezer or buried in a garden at a “house of horror” in southern France. Sixty-seven feline corpses were found in a chest freezer in a chalet next to the home and on the same grounds, it is believed. An animal protection group, called AEPA,

China has handed an Australian writer a suspended death sentence – five years after he was arrested on suspicion of spying. Pro-democracy academic Dr Yang Hengjun was detained at Guangzhou Airport in 2019 accused of espionage for a country China has not publicly identified. Dr Yang’s sentence, which comes three years after a closed-door trial,

Namibia’s President Hage Geingob has died aged 82. Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba announced Mr Geingob’s death in the early hours of Sunday morning. “At his side was his dear wife Madame Monica Geingos and his children,” Mr Mbumba said in a statement. He had been diagnosed with cancer and publicly revealed his diagnosis last month. His

Since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine there has been a revolution in the role of military UAVs (unmanned air vehicles), which have enabled much smaller forces to prevail against the traditionally dominant military powers. Has drone warfare become the dominant military capability for the underdog? The first flight of a powered UAV was on 6

At least two people have been killed and 29 injured after gas explosion in Nairobi, according to reports. A local newspaper in the Kenyan capital said the blast happened in the Embakasi neighbourhood just before midnight on Thursday. Wesley Kimeto, commander in charge of police in Embakasi, was quoted saying on the Standard newspaper’s X

Storm Ingunn has battered Norway – with wind gusts of more than 120mph (193km per hour). Households in central areas on Thursday woke to find they were without power, while a bus was blown off a road northeast of Bergen. None of the 14 passengers on board were injured, police said. Some areas were flooded,

The owner of the farm where the remains of murdered Muriel McKay are thought to be buried has said he will let police dig there without a search warrant. But banker Ian Marsh said it’s up to detectives to judge whether they have enough new evidence to pinpoint the precise burial site. His offer follows

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged around 200 prisoners of war from each side. Russia’s defence ministry said the swap involved 195 soldiers on each side – but President Zelenskyy said 207 Ukrainians were freed in Wednesday’s exchange. There was no immediate explanation for the different figures. Ukraine-Russia war latest – Putin’s US missile accusations “We