World

Former US national security adviser John Bolton has described China as “the existential threat in the 21st century”, after a suspected spy balloon was shot down over North American airspace earlier this month. He told Sky News: “This balloon should be a wake up call for people in the US, Europe and elsewhere who don’t

On the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine there are ominous warnings the Ukraine conflict could widen and draw in other countries. America says China is considering entering the conflict as an active partner of Russia and will start sending weapons. And there are very real fears Vladimir Putin is stepping up

The president of Poland has told Sky News that Ukraine will need fighter jets to see off the threat from Russia. In an exclusive interview during his visit to the UK, Andrzej Duda also warned that Vladimir Putin is trying to exhaust the West in his effort to defeat Ukraine. President Duda has previously insisted

Almost a year since the Russian invasion, sirens, shelters, and blackouts have become normality for residents in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv But days without outages and a change in the weather have offered some respite for those whose lives have been changed, including Sky News Ukraine War Diarist Oksana. Click to subscribe to Ukraine War

Japan’s space agency aborted the launch of its first new rocket in more than 20 years after parts of the system failed. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stopped the launch of its flagship H3 rocket moments before lift-off when a pair of its auxiliary rockets did not ignite. A TV livestream showed smoke had

Russia is due to take part in a joint naval exercise with China and South Africa which could see the test launch of a hypersonic cruise missile – as Western leaders assemble for a major security conference. A frigate armed with the Zircon weapon has been deployed for 10 days of joint drills in the

Israel’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a law to strip Arabs of their Israeli citizenship or residency if they are convicted in nationalistic attacks or give money to prisoners. The law was passed 94 votes to 10 by the hard-right coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many opposition politicians, while Arab representatives voted against it.

A German ballet director has apologised after smearing dog faeces on the face of a newspaper critic whose reviews he disagreed with. Marco Goecke was suspended from his post as ballet chief at the Hannover state opera over the weekend incident. He is said to have approached dance critic Wiebke Huester, who writes for the

Arriving by helicopter at hospital in the Turkish city of Adana, Emine Akgul is incredibly lucky to be alive. The 26-year-old teacher was rescued from a collapsed building more than 200 hours after the earthquake struck. She was found in a six-storey building, where many people worked carefully but quickly to remove her from the

A suspicious aerial object looking like a weather balloon has been spotted flying in Romania’s airspace. The country’s air force scrambled two MiG 21 LanceR jets to the area in the southeast 10 minutes after its surveillance system detected the object, but they were unable to confirm its presence, the defence ministry said. The planes

Qatar has donated 10,000 mobile homes to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The cabins and caravans had previously provided accommodation for some of the 1.4 million visitors to the 2022 World Cup. The Qatar Development Fund said some 350 mobile homes have already been sent to the affected areas in

Indian tax officials have raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi. Teams from the tax department surveyed the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting officials who were not identified. A BBC spokesperson said: “The income tax authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and

Two new border crossings have been opened between Turkey and Syria to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid following last week’s devastating earthquake, the United Nations (UN) has said. Syrian President Bashar al Assad has agreed to allow UN deliveries to opposition-held northwest Syria through the crossings for three months, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

The Philippines has accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser and temporarily blinding some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea. In an incident which it called a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights, the Chinese ship reportedly manoeuvered dangerously close, about 137m

Hugging a cow on Valentine’s Day is no longer being encouraged by the Indian government – despite it previously asking people to do so to promote Hindu values. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) retracted its “Cow Hug Day” appeal after it attracted criticism from political rivals and social media users. The Indian government

A dog breeder was shot and killed on Monday night after a planned sale of a French bulldog went wrong, police have said. Lonnie A Ray, 76, organised to sell the dog in Bishopville, South Carolina. Authorities described Mr Ray as “probably the best breeder” in the area. Mr Ray had planned to meet the

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spent two decades in power, serving as Turkey’s prime minister from 2003 to 2014, when he was elected president.  He now faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding swathes of the country that have crumbled to rubble in the most devastating earthquake since 1999. He is also seeking re-election in May. Who

Australia is to remove security cameras made by firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party from its defence department buildings. At least 913 cameras, intercoms, entry systems and video recorders made by Hikvision and Dahua are in government offices, including the defence and foreign affairs departments, said The Australian newspaper. China‘s government partly owns the