World

The gunman who killed seven people at a Jehovah’s Witness building in Hamburg was a former member of the congregation who police had been warned about, German police have said. The 35-year-old man, referred to by police as Philip F, left the religious community 18 months ago with “ill feelings”, Hamburg’s head of police Matthias

A gunman believed to have been acting alone has killed several people in a Jehovah’s Witness building in the German city of Hamburg, police have said. Shots were fired at the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Kingdom Hall in the Gross Borstel district, with police alerted at around 9.15pm on Thursday. Police have not confirmed how many people

I met Larysa standing on broken glass outside her Kyiv apartment block trying to convince two council workmen to come up to her flat and mend her shattered windows. Only hours earlier she had been shaken to the core by a huge explosion in the residential complex car park three floors beneath her. She invited

Georgia’s ruling party said it will drop a controversial bill on “foreign agents” after two days of violent protests. The ruling party, named Georgian Dream, said in a statement it would “unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations”. It cited the need to reduce “confrontation” in society but denounced “lies” told about the

Ireland will hold a vote in November on removing “outmoded” references to a woman’s place being in the home from the country’s constitution. The Irish government said on Wednesday that it will hold a referendum on Article 41.2, which says Ireland recognises that “by her life within the home, woman gives to the state a

In the migrant camps in northern France, it’s Mother Nature that calls the shots.  Many of the people staying in makeshift tent villages are waiting to catch small boats to the UK. Today, it’s the weather which has disrupted some of those crossings rather than an announcement from Westminster. “I’m going because my wife and my

Iran has secretly supplied large quantities of bullets, rockets and mortar shells to Russia for the war in Ukraine and plans to send more, a security source has told Sky News. The source claimed that two Russian-flagged cargo ships departed an Iranian port in January bound for Russia via the Caspian Sea, carrying approximately 100

Ukraine has vowed to avenge the death of a soldier it said was shot by Russian troops in a video that spread on social media. The video, which emerged online on Monday, purportedly shows the killing of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier. In a statement last night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “the occupiers” killed “a

Japan’s space agency was forced to destroy a new rocket just moments after its launch. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had to send a self-destruct command to its H3 rocket 14 minutes into the flight after the ignition for the second stage of its launch failed. It comes just three weeks after the country’s

A Russian court has jailed the founder of an opposition Telegram channel, accusing him of spreading misinformation about the country’s armed forces. Dmitry Ivanov will spend more than eight years in a colony. Last year, the Kremlin passed a law making it illegal to publish false information about its war in Ukraine. Ukraine war –

China’s foreign minister has warned of likely conflict should the US continue its “reckless” approach to relations with Beijing. Qin Gang said rising tensions between the two powers were the fault of Washington, with last month’s downing of a suspected surveillance balloon the latest flashpoint. The mysterious reconnaissance aircraft was taken out on the orders

Iran’s supreme leader has said whoever is responsible for suspected poisonings at girls’ schools should be executed for an “unforgivable crime”. More than 1,000 children have become ill since November in 25 of the country’s 31 provinces, according to officials and state media. “If the poisoning of students is proven, those behind this crime should

Human remains found at a house in Hong Kong have been confirmed as belonging to model Abby Choi. Warning: The following article contains details of a graphic nature DNA tests confirmed her identity after her dismembered legs were found in a fridge, and her skull and ribs in a cooking pot that was seized from

Beijing’s Great Hall of the People is magnificent. Based, as it is, in such a politically sensitive location looking out over Tiananmen Square, it’s normally impossible to film here – even taking your phone out can elicit close attention from the police. But not this weekend. Those accredited to pass beyond the closed roads were

The famous Prussian general Clausewitz famously opined: “No one starts a war or rather, no one in his senses should do so without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it”. Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine over a year ago initiated a

A US man has died from a brain-eating amoeba – possibly after rinsing his nose with tap water, health officials have said. The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County confirmed the death in a news release on 23 February but gave no details about the victim. The naegleria fowleri infection was thought to be

Norway’s government has apologised to reindeer herders following protests over a wind farm built on land they have used for centuries. Activists, mostly teenagers, started demonstrating a week ago and have blocked several government buildings in the capital Oslo. They say the presence of the 151 turbines violates the rights of the Sami people and

At least 43 people have died in a train crash in Greece, with the country’s prime minister saying the disaster appeared to be mainly down to “tragic human error”. The search continues for survivors after a passenger service collided with a freight train carrying shipping containers and travelling in the opposite direction but on the

At least 57 people have died in a train crash in Greece, with the country’s prime minister saying the disaster appeared to be mainly down to “tragic human error”. The search continues for survivors after a passenger service collided with a freight train carrying shipping containers and travelling in the opposite direction but on the

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given a televised statement criticising anti-government protesters after the previous defence minister and senior opposition figure Benny Gantz warned that the country was heading for civil war. The dramatic exchange happened after another day of demonstrations across Israel, some of which turned violent. Anti-government protesters blocked streets and rallied