World

Father Christmas, driving a sleigh filled with NATO-branded rockets, is shot out of the sky above Moscow in an apparent new piece of Russian propaganda. “Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” says a second Santa in Russian, sitting in what appears to be a control room. Ukraine Centre for Countering Disinformation shared

South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo. The move could deepen a constitutional crisis in the Asian country triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol. After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos. The

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed killing 38 people was downed by a Russian air defence system, according to four Reuters sources. The Embraer 190 passenger jet was en route from Azerbaijan‘s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it changed course. It crashed around two

Indonesia and Thailand are marking 20 years since a tsunami caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people in one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. People started gathering in prayer today and visiting mass graves in Aceh, one of the worst-hit areas by the Boxing Day Indian Ocean tsunami which saw

Ukrainians sheltered in metro stations on Christmas morning as Russian missiles and drones rained down on their cities. Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that he said sought to plunge his people into darkness. “Putin deliberately chose Christmas,” he said on Wednesday. “What could be more inhumane?” Russia’s defence ministry said it

Denmark has announced plans to boost its defence spending for Greenland with a “stronger presence in the Arctic” – a few hours after Donald Trump repeated his call for the US to buy the vast island. Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package would amount to a “double-digit billion amount” in krone, or

The sense of hollowness of the Church of the Nativity is deeper than absent tourists. The chants and prayers are pain-stricken and desperate. Down in the manger by the enshrined spot where baby Jesus was said to be born, a priest solemnly swings incense into the corners. Image: Bethlehem’s Christian community struggles to celebrate amid

Slovakia’s prime minister has drawn criticism from across Europe and from his own people after his surprise visit to Moscow for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin on Sunday. Robert Fico is only the third EU leader to visit Mr Putin in Moscow since the Russian president ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine

The iconic crocodile who starred in hit film Crocodile Dundee has died, his zoo has announced. Crocosaurus Cove, where Burt had been kept since 2008, said he passed away “peacefully” over the weekend. He was estimated to be over 90 years old, well over the usual life expectancy. “Burt was truly one of a kind.

The suspect in the German Christmas market attack “threatened to do something that would attract international attention” in 2013 and was flagged as a potential threat the following year, according to a state interior minister. Christian Pegel told a press conference the 50-year-old suspect had referred to the Boston Marathon bombings, in which three people

The mother of a nine-year-old boy killed in the German Christmas market attack has paid tribute to “my little teddy bear”. Andre Gleissner was one of at least five people who died, while more than 200 others were injured when a car ploughed into crowds in Magdeburg on Friday evening. German Christmas market attack –

A memorial service has taken place in Magdeburg, Germany, for the victims of a Christmas market attack. At least five people were killed and more than 200 others injured when a car ploughed into crowds shopping on Friday evening. Image: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (C) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) at the memorial service. Pic:

The suspect in the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg appeared to be dissatisfied with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany, a prosecutor has said. On Friday evening, a car was driven at speed into visiting crowds in the central German city. Five people have died so far – including a nine-year-old child

At least one person has been killed and dozens of others injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany, local media reports. News agency dpa said the driver had been arrested following the incident in the eastern city of Magdeburg, while AFP news agency reports 60-80 people have

Vladimir Putin has said Russia should have invaded Ukraine earlier, in a national address spanning more than four hours. Russia began the conflict with its neighbour in February 2022 and at his annual televised news conference, Mr Putin claimed the war has made Russia “stronger”. The decision to invade “should have been made earlier” he

It is a crime so brutal and depraved it defies words – so outside the court, they applaud instead. Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse Since September, people have lined the route in Avignon clapping as Gisele Pelicot walks past. It is a wordless act of support for the 72-year-old woman at the

A man who repeatedly drugged his then wife and invited strangers to rape her while she was unconscious has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after a historic mass trial. Dominique Pelicot, 72, had confessed to all the charges and admitted he mixed sedatives into the food and drink of his wife, Gisele Pelicot,

Ukraine cannot remove Russian troops from the land they occupy in the east of the country and Crimea, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted. While Kyiv would never recognise Russia’s rule, he said diplomacy is the only option to get President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his army. It comes less than a month after he gave similar

A husband described as one of France’s worst sex offenders is expected to be sentenced tomorrow – as the verdicts for all 51 defendants come back in the Gisele Pelicot mass rape trial. Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted drugging and raping his then-wife Ms Pelicot, 72, for almost a decade. During the four-month trial, he

A well-known former boss of Australia’s national rugby team has denied dozens of sex charges against 10 males. Alan Jones – who was also a radio presenter for many years – appeared in court for the first time since his arrest last month. The 83-year-old is accused of 34 charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent