World

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to a further 19 years behind bars on charges his supporters have branded trumped up to keep him out of politics for even longer. The 47-year-old, who is President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, is already serving more than 11 years in prison for fraud and

President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger has claimed he is a “hostage” and that the entire Sahel region could fall to the Russians following the country’s military coup. Writing for the Washington Post, Mr Bazoum said he had been “illegally imprisoned” after all political activity was suspended by Niger’s military junta. He said that if successful,

Iran has announced a nationwide shutdown due to “unprecedented heat”.  A two-day national holiday will start tomorrow with governmental offices, banks and schools all closing. The health ministry said hospitals will be on high alert, as it warned the elderly and people with health conditions to stay indoors. Many cities and towns across Iran have

China is to limit the export of long-range drones over fears they are being converted for military use in Ukraine. Beijing says it will limit the export of some high-performance civilian devices due to the “increasing risk” that they are being used for “non-peaceful purposes”. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of targetting

France and Italy have announced plans to fly their citizens out of Niger following a military coup in the country. It comes after Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the palace in the capital Niamey, detained elected president Mohamed Bazoum, and announced a new military government last week. The French Foreign Ministry in Paris cited recent violence

Niger is the latest country in the Sahel region of northwest Africa to experience a military coup. Since Mali’s armed takeover in August 2020, several neighbouring countries have seen a similar pattern emerge. Elected officials are overthrown amid growing dissatisfaction with the political regime, which is often accused of corruption and failing to fend off

No one has yet said they carried out Sunday’s devastating blast at a political rally in Pakistan, but the country’s Islamic State (IS) group has claimed to be behind several attacks in the area this year. The latest atrocity – which has left at least 40 people dead – happened on the outskirts of Khar,

Thousands of supporters of the military junta that seized control in Niger in a coup have marched through the streets of the capital waving Russian flags and denouncing former colonial power France. Demonstrators in Niamey converged on the French embassy and set fire to its doors, stoned the building and burned the country’s flags. Russian

A Morocco defender has made history by becoming the first player to wear a hijab while competing at a senior international tournament. Nouhaila Benzina wore the headscarf as she stepped onto the field against South Korea in Morocco’s second World Cup match. FIFA had imposed a bad on playing in religious head coverings for “health

Vladimir Putin has said an African and a Chinese initiative could serve as a basis for peace in Ukraine, but warned there are things that are “impossible to implement”. The Russian president also claimed Moscow had not rejected peace talks in comments made following the conclusion of the Africa-Russia Forum in St Petersburg. He told

Nothing Compares, a documentary about Sinead O’Connor, will still air on Saturday to provide viewers the opportunity to “hear her tell her side of the story”, according to the filmmaker. Belfast-born director Kathryn Ferguson confirmed the original plan to release the programme on Sky Documentaries and Now from 29 July will proceed despite the recent

A Ukrainian fencer has been assured by the Olympic authorities she can compete at next year’s Paris games after she was disqualified from a key ranking event for refusing to shake hands with a Russian she had beaten. Olga Kharlan was told by the international organising body it would make a “unique exception” by allocating

In a small flat on China’s east coast, a young woman is fighting a battle she cannot win. She lies trapped in bed and in her own body, the only sound from the room is the rhythmic mechanical breathing of her ventilator. At just 37, she has the rare disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which

India’s first openly gay prince has told Sky News his parents tried to make him have brain surgery to change his sexuality. Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil said he felt humiliated when his mother and father sought medical help to “convert” him after he told them he was gay. It comes after a Sky News investigation

While pressure builds on President Zelenskyy to deliver some form of progress with the Ukrainian offensive, he is not the only leader under pressure. Away from the battlefields, there is growing evidence that President Putin‘s authority and support base is waning as cracks start to form in the foundations of his regime. Is there a

The remains of a German man who went missing while climbing near Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn mountain 37 years ago have been recovered. DNA tests confirmed the remains belonged to the 38-year-old, who went missing in September 1986. The discovery was made by climbers hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt on 12 July, police in

Singapore has executed a woman for the first time in 19 years. Saridewi Djamani, 45, was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking nearly 31 grams (1.09 ounces) of heroin, the Central Narcotics Bureau said. It said the amount was “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week”. Human rights groups,

Jordan Henderson’s new Saudi Arabian football club has turned part of a colour photograph black and white – ensuring his rainbow armband cannot be seen. A burst of images of Henderson playing for Liverpool feature on a video from Al-Ettifaq FC to announce his signing. One features Henderson in a match in December 2020 when

The ex-British spy who wrote a dossier on Donald Trump and Russian interference in the US election says he believes Vladimir Putin will be out of power “within the next year”. Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk at MI6 in London between 2006 and 2009, told Sky News the West needs to “prepare for

A US soldier who is being held in North Korea after entering the country without permission while on a tourist outing is “not the type to get into trouble”, his sister has said. Travis King crossed the border into North Korea while on a tour of the de-militarised zone (DMZ) that separates the secretive state