World

Children are among the dead after an Israeli airstrike on a block of flats in a Gaza refugee camp killed at least 33 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities. The attack – which Israel said targeted a “senior terrorist” but may have caused a secondary blast – came hours after the US national security adviser

Russia has established “direct contact” with Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) rebel group, according to state media outlet Interfax. It reported that deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told journalists that Russia was aiming to maintain its military bases inside Syria. Mr Bogdanov said contact with HTS was “proceeding in constructive fashion” and that Moscow

The head of NATO has warned the alliance is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia in the coming years and that it is time to shift to a wartime mindset. Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the organisation, said NATO members had spent more than 3% of GDP on defence during

Ireland is to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to broaden its definition of genocide – claiming Israel has engaged in the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza. An intervention will be made later this month, deputy prime minister Micheal Martin said, and will be linked to a case South Africa has brought under

Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host nation for the 2034 football World Cup. Also confirmed were the hosts for the 2030 World Cup, which was awarded to six countries and will take place across three continents to celebrate 100 years of the tournament. Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder for the 2034 competition.

Football has never seen a stadium as audacious and outlandish before. A futuristic cliff-top venue will be built 350m above ground when the $1.5trn NEOM megaproject springs up from the Saudi Arabian desert. There are no limits on ambition or spending to bring the World Cup to the kingdom in 2034 – and no need

Benjamin Netanyahu has started giving evidence in his corruption trial, calling the case “absurd” and saying he hates champagne in response to claims he accepted gifts of alcohol and cigars. The Israeli prime minister told a fortified, underground court in Tel Aviv he would refute the allegations and called them a “drop in the sea”

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to appear in court later for the first time in his long-running corruption trial. The Israeli prime minister has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Judges have ruled he must testify three times a week, despite the ongoing war in Gaza war and new threats in the Middle

Syrian rebels have brought 24 years of Bashar al Assad’s dictatorship to an end in a single week. Led by the former al Qaeda affiliate group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the uprising was also supported by US-backed Kurdish forces, Turkish-backed militias, and dozens of smaller fighter groups. Russia ‘surprised’ at Assad ousting – Syria latest

Syria’s ousted President Bashar al Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed. Mr Assad and members of his family arrived in the city on Sunday, a Kremlin source told the TASS news agency. The source said: “Assad and his family members have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them

Seizing military bases, toppling regime statues, freeing prisoners and capturing major cities – this is just a fraction of what Syrian rebel forces have achieved in just over a week. Sky News has tracked the shock offensive that has ousted President Bashar al Assad, using over 60 geolocated videos that show how they advanced through

The Syrian government appears to have fallen after a lightning offensive by rebels. President Bashar al Assad fled Damascus on a plane for an unknown destination, according to two senior Syrian army officers speaking to the Reuters news agency and Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, speaking to AP. Syria’s army command

Prince William has met Donald Trump for the first time since the American was re-elected president. The pair met at a ceremony in Paris to mark the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral – attended by leaders from around the world. They exchanged a few words and William patted the president-elect on the chest. Later in the

South Korea’s president has said he is “very sorry” days after declaring martial law and surrounding parliament with soldiers. Yoon Suk Yeol plunged his country into turmoil on Tuesday when he put the military in charge, claiming it was necessary to defend the constitutional order and “eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces”. However, his

Romania’s top court has annulled the results of the first round of the country’s presidential election after claims of Russian interference. The unprecedented decision came after declassified intelligence documents alleged Russia was behind a campaign to promote far-right candidate Calin Georgescu on platforms such as TikTok and Telegram. Mr Georgescu was viewed as an outsider

Russia’s ability to outmatch Ukraine with artillery barrages on the battlefield has significantly reduced to just 1.5 Russian rounds for every Ukrainian shell fired back, Western officials have said. This compares with Russian forces launching at least five times as many artillery rounds as Ukraine could in the war previously – with the ratio at times

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza. The human rights group said Israel sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by launching deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. It said such actions met the legal threshold for the

The man at the centre of negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire has told Sky News Donald Trump wants a deal done before he takes power in January.  Speaking exclusively to Sky’s The World with Yalda Hakim, the prime minister of Qatar expressed cautious optimism but said it required “maximum pressure” on all parties to end

The French government has collapsed after prime minister Michel Barnier lost a vote of no confidence. It follows his decision to use special powers to force a social security budget through the lower house of parliament without a final vote after a last-minute concession was not enough to win support from the far-right National Rally

South Korean lawmakers have called for the impeachment of the president after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later, triggering the biggest political crisis the country has faced in decades. The surprise declaration late on Tuesday ignited a standoff with parliament which rejected President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to ban political