World

Britons are being advised against all travel to Ukraine and those already in the country are being told to leave while they can. The action came as Boris Johnson told world leaders he “feared for the security of Europe” over the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a virtual meeting on Friday evening,

The Foreign Office has signed off tougher sanctions on Russia just hours ahead of a self-imposed deadline – and after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss held stormy talks with her counterpart in Moscow. New legislation was laid in parliament on Thursday that gives ministers the power to impose tough new sanctions on Russian oligarchs and businesses.

A full invasion of Ukraine would not be a “simple walk in the park” for Russia because Ukrainian troops would fight for every metre of land until their last breath, the commander of all ground forces has warned. General Oleksandr Syrskyi said his soldiers were starting a round of military exercises in the north of

Nord Stream 2, the controversial gas pipeline linking Germany and Russia, should never open, according to one of Ukraine’s most senior diplomats. Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine’s ambassador to the European Union, also claims his country is being “pushed towards NATO and towards the West” by the actions of Russia, which he insists is guilty of “breaching

Spy planes are conducting missions to track Russian movements, which might include listening to Russian soldiers’ phone calls home, according to one expert. The planes are equipped with devices that allow them to collect signals sent from Russian bases and to intercept communications. Sky News analysis of flight tracking data from a typical day in

China is targeting Uyghurs and critics abroad, pressuring other countries to detain and deport them, an investigation by Sky News has found, with high-ranking Chinese officials even conducting interrogations at “black sites” abroad. Chinese agents and police routinely operate abroad, attempting to identify Uyghurs who have fled China. Some are coerced into spying for the

Six Russian warships are heading for the Black Sea for naval drills amid escalating tension between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. The Russian defence ministry said the exercises were a planned movement of military resources, according to the Interfax news agency. It came hours after Paris said Vladimir Putin had promised not

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned European countries will be drawn into military conflict if Ukraine joins NATO, following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. The Russian leader also warned there would be “no winners” from the ongoing crisis, after meeting with his French counterpart at the Kremlin, for talks he described as useful,

Russia and France have common security concerns in Europe, Vladimir Putin told Emmanuel Macron at the start of their meeting in the Kremlin on Monday. The French president met with his Russian counterpart in an attempt to calm tensions in the region. At the meeting, President Macron said there needs to be a useful response

The cells of Herat’s main prison are crammed full. In each of the cells we go into, there are about 40 men laying jammed up against each other on the floor with some on bunk beds around the edges. We’ve been given exclusive access to one of the Taliban’s jails and we’re escorted by the

Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron have agreed that countries on NATO’s eastern flank must be “fully defended against malicious Russian activity”. That applies “wherever and however it might occur”, the two leaders added. Amid continuing concerns that Russia may invade Ukraine, the British prime minister and French president also “stressed that NATO must be united

The ordinary people of Beijing were not allowed to buy tickets to the opening ceremony so they stood at the Bird’s Nest, waiting for the fireworks. They watched the ceremony on their phones, shivering in the freezing cold. At least until police moved them away, a mile and a half down the road, to a

A five-year-old boy who spent four days trapped in a 32m (105ft) deep well has died, Morocco’s king has said. Footage from the scene in the north of the country showed workers emerging from a tunnel – dug specifically for the rescue – carrying the child, Rayan Awram, on Saturday evening. An Associated Press reporter

Russia and China have put on a united front as the country’s leaders met in Beijing ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, with the two looking to present themselves as a counterweight to the US and its allies. China said it supported Russia’s demands for security guarantees from the West, as both countries called

US intelligence accusing Russia of planning a fake attack to justify an invasion of Ukraine is “shocking evidence of Moscow’s aggression”, Liz Truss has warned. The foreign secretary tweeted: “This is clear and shocking evidence of Russia’s unprovoked aggression and underhand activity to destabilise Ukraine. “This bellicose intent towards a sovereign democratic country is completely

A production and storage vessel which can hold up to two million barrels of oil has exploded off the coast of Nigeria with ten crew members on board. The FPSO Trinity Spirit, with can process up to 22,000 barrels of oil per day, was situated near Warri in southern Nigeria when it burst into flames.

Satellite images reveal a build-up of Russia’s military presence in Crimea and western Russia as tensions continue to rise with Ukraine. The pictures show an increase in tents designed to accommodate troops at a number of Russian bases. Previous satellite images have shown that Russia has been deploying large equipment, such as military vehicles, to

Boris Johnson has urged Russia to “step back” from any military action against Ukraine, pledging that the UK “stands shoulder to shoulder” with Kyiv. During a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the prime minister said a Russian invasion would be a “political and humanitarian disaster” and a “military disaster as well”. A series

On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup. Many democratically elected politicians including the country’s de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and President U Win Myint were detained. Others fled or were forced into hiding. The military regime said concerns of widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 vote was the reason it

A British woman found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has won her appeal to overturn the conviction at the country’s Supreme Court, her lawyers said. The then 19-year-old, from Derby, was given a suspended four-month jail term in 2020 after a judge found her guilty of public mischief following a trial. The