World

Finland has started building a fence along parts of its 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia amid security tensions with its neighbour over the Ukraine war. The Finnish Border Guard says the 200km of barrier fence will improve security and help stop disruption if Moscow decides to weaponise mass migration against Helsinki. Work began on the project

Denmark has scrapped a public holiday in order to help pay for its NATO defence spending commitments. The newly formed government says the move will help raise tax revenues for money to boost the country’s defence in the wake of the Ukraine war. NATO asks that member states commit a minimum of 2% of their

The director of the FBI has said the agency believes COVID-19 “most likely” came from a lab leak in China. “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Christopher Wray told Fox News. Mr Wray said he could not

Most of us have at some point stopped to gaze up at the moon – but have you ever wondered what time it is up there? For those who have, their question may soon have an answer, as space organisations are considering giving the moon its very own time zone. Dozens of lunar missions, including

Besiktas fans threw thousands of stuffed toys onto the pitch during a match on Sunday to donate to children affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Turkish Super League game against Antalyaspor was paused after 4 minutes and 17 seconds to allow fans to throw the gifts onto the pitch. The 7.8 magnitude

Many are preparing for a fight and are not in the mood for peace The statement that emerged from the talks in Jordan is, on the face of it, positive. Both sides have agreed to keep a direct dialogue, something that has been lacking as tensions have worsened in recent months. Also agreed was a

In the year since Russia launched a full-scale attack on its neighbour, Ukrainian troops have retaken huge swathes of territory and look to be preparing for a fresh counterattack. Armed with NATO battle tanks (and perhaps eventually F-16 fighter jets), will Ukraine’s armed forces be able to once again punch through Russian lines in the

Ukraine hopes to defeat Russia’s invasion this year but, unless the West provides sufficient weapons to achieve a decisive victory or Vladimir Putin gives up, this war is set to grind on. One year into a full-scale invasion intent on toppling the government and imposing a pro-Russia regime, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was standing firm on

China has called for a ceasefire and peace talks in Ukraine on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. Beijing’s foreign ministry urged all parties to “avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions” in the hope of preventing the crisis from “deteriorating further or spiralling out of control”. Ukraine war live updates A paper published

A school pupil has confessed to sending a hoax bomb threat to passengers on a plane using Apple’s AirDrop function, US officials have said. The message resulted in an American Airlines flight being diverted from the tarmac at an airport in Texas last week. The Department of Public Safety said an investigation resulted in the

Ukraine’s foreign minister has insisted that Western fighter jets would not be used by his country to strike targets within Russia. Speaking to Sky News at the United Nations in New York, Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine needs the jets to end the war and push Russia back beyond its eastern borders. “We’re using weapons which

About 200,000 people have gathered in Moscow to hear Vladimir Putin speak at a pro-war rally ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Huge crowds assembled in the capital as the Russian president took to the stage at the “Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland” concert, held at the Luzhniki Stadium on

A teacher has been stabbed to death by a pupil during a lesson at a school in southwest France, government officials have said. The victim, a 50-year-old Spanish teacher, was stabbed in the chest at Saint Thomas d’Aquin private high school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz near Bordeaux, broadcaster BFM TV reported. A 16-year-old student has been arrested

Russia’s president had a message of defiance for the West as he suspended participation in the last major nuclear arms control treaty with the United States. Vladimir Putin also vowed to conduct nuclear weapons tests if Washington chose to do so and challenged the nuclear weapons posture of the UK and France. If anyone in

Vladimir Putin thought his enemies would “roll over” but instead he “met the will of America and nations everywhere who refused to accept a world governed by fear”, Joe Biden has said. The US president gave a speech from the gardens of Warsaw’s Royal Castle in Poland a day after he made a highly-secretive and

Joe Biden has said Vladimir Putin expected his enemies to “roll over” when he invaded Ukraine but was met with the “iron will” of its allies – as the Russian president suspended a key nuclear treaty with the US after accusing the West of starting the war. The American president gave a highly-anticipated speech from

Japan is considering raising the age of consent from 13 to 16 as part of an overhaul of the country’s sex crime legislation. The age of consent in Japan has remained unchanged since 1907 and is one of the lowest in the world – and among all G7 nations. In Germany and Italy it is

Vladimir Putin has blamed the West for starting the war in Ukraine and claimed Russia responded with force “in order to stop it”. In a speech describing his aims as the first anniversary of the conflict nears, the Russian president said Ukraine was in talks with the West about weapons before Russia invaded its neighbour

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the Turkey-Syria border two weeks after a massive quake in the same region left more than 45,000 people dead, the US Geological Survey has said. Turkey’s AFAD disaster management agency said the earthquake was centered around the town of Defne in the country’s Hatay province, which was devastated by

Another year of severe drought in Italy looks increasingly likely after a winter of little snowfall, exposing a walkway in Lake Garda while Venice battles dry canals. The Alps have received less than half their normal amount of snowfall, while water levels on Lake Garda in northern Italy have fallen to record lows, making it