World

This is a troubling moment on many levels. It represents yet another clear indication that America and its allies are facing a regional conflict in the Middle East. It is a conflict in which they are protagonists, a conflict they are struggling to influence and a conflict which they have not contained. It’s moments like

Israel’s war against Hamas could be paused for two months should US negotiators reach a deal where dozens of hostages captured in the 7 October attack would be released, according to two senior administration officials. The American officials, who wished to remain anonymous, said the terms of the deal in progress would play out in

Ukraine would win the war faster if it had permission to fire British and other Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia, the head of the Ukrainian navy has signalled. Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa told Sky News the course of the entire conflict would have been very different had Ukrainian forces been allowed to use

An oil tanker is on fire in the Red Sea after a missile attack by Houthi fighters. In a statement, the ship’s owner Trafigura, which has offices in Britain, said firefighting equipment on board was being deployed to control the flames and the safety of the crew is its “foremost priority”. A spokesperson for the

Just before midnight on 21 January, four RAF Typhoons attacked a series of Houthi targets in a coordinated wave of UK-US strikes. It was the eighth attack on the Iran-backed militia by the US, and the second by the RAF, since the first on 11 January. The latest US strikes were all carried out by

It’s time to “think the unthinkable” and consider introducing conscription to ready the country for a potential land war, Britain’s former top NATO commander has said. General Sir Richard Sherriff, ex-deputy supreme allied commander of the military organisation, warned that the UK defence budget is not big enough to expand the armed forces alone. He

Josef Fritzl – who kept his daughter captive for 24 years, raped her thousands of times, and fathered seven children with her – can be moved to a regular prison, a court has ruled. The 88-year-old Austrian – who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 for incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement, and the

Invading Russian troops – arms up, faces scared – drown in a river in the frontline city of Kherson as a Ukrainian soldier watches on, rifle raised. The image, drawn by a child, is among a line of pictures, including of jets, tanks and corpses, that illustrates Ukraine’s lost childhood after almost two years of

A major monument dedicated to peace and the possibility of reunification between North Korea and South Korea appears to have been demolished under the orders of Kim Jong Un. Mr Kim recently vowed to launch new spy satellites, build military drones and boost his nuclear arsenal, saying US policy was making war inevitable. Last week,

British and US aid workers have been asked to leave Yemen by Houthi authorities in the country, a letter seen by Sky News shows. In the letter, the Houthi-controlled foreign affairs ministry to the country’s United Nations coordinator requests aid workers with US and British citizenship to leave within 30 days. It follows the second

The Israeli army says 21 soldiers have been killed in central Gaza – the deadliest day for its forces since the war began. It said the soldiers were preparing explosives to demolish two buildings on Monday when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a nearby tank, setting off the explosion prematurely and causing the buildings

The US and UK have carried out joint attacks on Houthi military targets in Yemen for the second time, US officials have said. Tomahawk missiles – launched from warships and submarines – and fighter jets attacked Houthi missile storage sites and launchers, American officials said, according to the AP news agency. It follows the bombing

Dozens of family members of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have stormed into a meeting in the Israeli parliament to demand action be taken to release their relatives. They entered a Finance Committee meeting in the Knesset in Jerusalem and shouted “you won’t sit here while they are dying there!”. One woman held

Tens of thousands of Germans have taken to the streets to protest against the far-right. The demonstrations are in response to a report claiming that several members of the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) had taken part in a meeting where plans to deport migrants en masse were discussed. In Berlin, crowds braved freezing

Nikki Haley has questioned Donald Trump’s mental capacity to serve a potential second term in the White House. Ms Haley, 52, made the comments after Mr Trump, her Republican rival, appeared to confuse her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a rally in Concord ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. The former

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of not telling the truth about the key military aim of defeating Hamas by a member of the country’s war cabinet. Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, whose son was killed fighting in Gaza, also cast doubt over the strategy for releasing hostages and said there was “no

Warfare is a brutal and unforgiving undertaking.  However, the primary responsibility of any government is the protection of its people and its national interests, so military capability is a cornerstone of national capability. But, military forces provide options and are a means to an end – not an end in itself – and when all

One of the top leaders of a notorious Mexican drug cartel, which kidnapped four Americans and killed two of them last year, has been captured by marines. Jose Alberto Garcia Vilano, known by the nicknames La Kena and Cyclone 19, was seized at a shopping centre in an upmarket area on the outskirts of Monterrey.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US calls for the development of a Palestinian state, as he vowed the offensive in Gaza would press ahead for many months. In a nationally televised news conference on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, repeatedly saying that Israel would not halt its offensive until it achieves

Iran and Pakistan have accused each other of harbouring terrorists.  Fighter jets from the Pakistan Air Force undertook a series of coordinated and targeted strikes using extended-range munitions against seven terrorist hideouts in the Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Follow live: US hits more Houthi targets – Pakistan explains Iran strikes In a statement,