“Afghanistan was a silent country, a silenced nation,” says Ahmad Sarmast, founder and director of the country’s National Institute of Music. “And the same is happening again today.” Having spent more than a decade encouraging and nurturing the talents of hundreds of children and young people during a period when the country’s music scene was
World
Brazil’s president should face homicide charges over errors that led to an estimated 95,000 COVID-19 deaths, a draft of a major inquiry report has found. With more than 600,000 deaths, only the US has lost more people to coronavirus than Brazil and the president has been widely criticised for openly objecting to lockdowns, regularly refusing
At least three children were killed and one other person was injured during an airstrike in the capital of the Tigray region in Ethiopia on Monday, the United Nations has said. A deadly conflict erupted between Tigrayan and Ethiopian government forces nearly a year ago and since November last year, thousands of people have been
US President Joe Biden has paid tribute to former US secretary of state Colin Powell following his death, saying he “could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business”. The 84-year-old died following complications from COVID-19, his family said in a statement today. Figures from across the political spectrum have paid their tributes to the first
Hamas has warned Israel that another war is inevitable unless its occupation of Palestine ends and the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza is resolved. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, in the first interview since mediation talks in Egypt ended, a senior Hamas official said that the fight will continue “with all means”, until an independent
At least 22 people have been killed in flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rain in the southern Indian state of Kerala over the weekend. The National Disaster Response Force, the Indian army and navy were called out to rescue people after several areas were hit. According to a government official, 13 people were
A notorious gang with a history of kidnappings has been blamed by police for the abduction of 17 missionaries in Haiti. The 400 Mowozo gang was said to have kidnapped the religious group on Saturday, which included children, who were on their way home from an orphanage in the capital Port-au-Prince. Christian Aid Ministries, the
Russia has reported a record number of new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours with cases hitting 34,303 – the highest since the pandemic began. It represents a hike of more than 70% when compared with last month’s figure of 20,174. Meanwhile, the number of daily COVID deaths in Russia stood at 997 –
A man who was 13 when he killed a four-year-old boy has been granted parole. Eric M Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994, and jailed for nine years to life. A year earlier, he had lured Derrick Robie into the woods and struck him on the head with a rock in the New
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has lost her latest appeal against her sentence in Iran, meaning she could be sent back to prison “at any time”, her MP has said. Labour’s Tulip Siddiq said the British-Iranian dual national’s sentence of one year plus a one-year travel ban has been “upheld with no court hearing”. The Hampstead and Kilburn
At least 15 people have been killed in an explosion at a mosque in southern Afghanistan. The blast happened in the Kandahar region during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque, with 31 believed to be wounded, officials say. The interior minister’s spokesman, Qari Saeed Khosti, said authorities were collecting details of the explosion, which occurred
The suspect in a bow and arrow attack that killed five people in Norway has been moved into the care of health services, police have said. Detectives have requested that Espen Andersen Braathen be remanded in custody for four weeks, with full isolation for 14 days. He has acknowledged killing the victims, investigators have said.
Espen Andersen Braathen has been charged with five murders after an attacker with a bow and arrows went on a rampage in a Norwegian town. Authorities say Wednesday’s incident in Kongsberg – about 41 miles southwest of Oslo – “appears to be an act of terrorism” which had targeted “completely random” people. Here’s what we
The killings of five people in Norway by a man armed with a bow and arrows “appears to be an act of terrorism”, the country’s security agency has said. Four women and one man were killed during the rampage in Kongsberg, with a police officer among others left injured. A statement issued by PST, Norway’s
Five people have been killed and two others – including an off-duty police officer – were injured in a series of bow and arrow attacks in Norway, according to police. The incidents took place in the town of Kongsberg, 51 miles (82km) southwest of the capital, Oslo. A suspect has been apprehended by police, who
President Vladimir Putin dismissed suggestions that Russia is using energy as a weapon as “complete nonsense”, as he announced he was ready to provide more gas to Europe if necessary. During his address at the Russian Energy Week International Forum in Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian leader said that the country was ready to increase
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to call for “global action” to tackle supply chain issues on his first official visit to the United States. Mr Sunak will encourage finance ministers from G20 nations to “work together” to ensure supply chains are more resilient in the future following the struggles in getting goods around the world during
A large 6.4 magnitude earthquake has hit the Greek holiday island of Crete and a tsunami warning has been issued. The quake struck the east coast of the island at a depth of 10km under the village of Palekastro, according to the US Geological Survey. The village is 84km from Agios Nikolaos which is a
World leaders must deliver on their promises to limit global warming to 1.5C at COP26, the UN climate conference’s president will warn. Alok Sharma will make a speech in the French capital today in which he will call on countries to honour the Paris Agreement, which was signed six years ago and saw most nations
A Chinese defector has revealed to Sky News how Uyghur detainees are transported in their hundreds on packed prison trains, along with details of torture and deaths inside re-education centres in Xinjiang. The man, who says he served as a police officer in Xinjiang and asked only to be identified by the name Jiang, told