World

An explosion has hit a gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia. The blast happened in the Panevezys county, northern Lithuania, said the country’s gas transmission operator Amber Grid. Lithuanian broadcaster LRT said the village of Valakeliai, with about 250 inhabitants, was being evacuated as a precaution. Nemunas Biknius, general director of Amber Grid, told Sky

The temperatures are well below freezing and spindles of snow swirl across the roads as gusts of icy wind cut like a million knives across the landscape.  But even in the depth of winter there’s no let-up in the fighting, and in and around the salt mining town of Soledar it is especially fierce. Armoured

It’s hard to imagine the bravery it takes to drive a van into a hotzone on the frontline, artillery fire exploding all around as you try to evacuate as many people as possible.  Chris Parry didn’t know much about Ukraine before Russia invaded in February last year, but as soon as he saw news of

Russia’s Wagner Group has claimed the body of one of the missing British aid workers in Ukraine has been found. Christopher Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, were last seen on Friday leaving Kramatorsk for Soledar. A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the families of two British men

A corrupted file has been blamed for a glitch on the Federal Aviation Administration’s computer system which saw every flight grounded across the US. All outbound flights were grounded until around 9am Eastern Time (2pm GMT) on Wednesday as the FAA worked to restore its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which alerts pilots of

A man with a knife attacked six people at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, leaving one with major injuries, French police have said. The attacker was shot several times by officers and taken to hospital with serious injuries, a police spokesperson said. His motivations were not immediately clear, the force added. A

Russia has stepped up its offensive in Ukraine, with officials suggesting Vladimir Putin’s troops have taken control of an area outside the major city of Bakhmut. According to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “everything is completely destroyed, there is almost no life left”, in the Donetsk region, which includes the town of Soledar. “The whole land

Two British nationals who were reported missing in Ukraine have been named. Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, who are volunteers helping with civilian evacuation and humanitarian efforts in the war-torn Donetsk region, were reported missing by the area’s police department. They were last seen leaving Kramatorsk for Soledar at 8am last Friday, and contact was

A container ship loaded with more than 65,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine has been refloated after running aground in the Suez Canal. The M/V Glory was 24 miles (38km) into its southward journey through the Egyptian waterway, near the city of Qantara, when it suffered a technical fault, according to the Suez Canal Authority

Rioters have invaded and ransacked Brazil’s Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court – in a grim echo of the US Capitol riots two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump. The uprising, which lasted just over three hours, marked the severe polarisation that still grips the country. It came days after the inauguration

Supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro have invaded the country’s presidential palace, Congress, Supreme Court and ministries’ building. Footage and images on social media show what looks like thousands of people, many draped in the yellow and green of the Brazil flag, streaming up the steps of the National Congress building in the capital

Two years after the death of music producer and convicted killer Phil Spector, a controversial bid to clear his name is understood to be under way. Widely lauded as a musical genius for his work with the likes of The Righteous Brothers, Tina Turner and The Beatles, Spector spent his final years in prison after

In the gloom of her kitchen, Halyna Bereznitska prepares the Christmas meal. Russian attacks on the energy grid have left many here in Kyiv reliant on the intermittent power of a generator. The celebratory dinner is low-key and there’s plenty to eat – but her husband and son are fighting on the front lines. Putin

At least 29 people have been killed in Mexico following violent clashes and hours of shootouts prompted by the capture of one of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s sons. Nineteen suspected gang members and 10 military personnel were killed in a wave of violence after Mexican security forces arrested Ovidio Guzman, the country’s defence minister Luis

Police investigating the death of a Kenyan LGBTQ+ activist who was found stuffed in a metal box have arrested a suspect. A murder inquiry is under way after Edwin Chiloba’s body was discovered on a road in Uasin Gishu County, in western Kenya, on Wednesday. A motorcycle taxi driver said they saw the box being

Gunfights have broken out in the capital of Mexico’s Sinaloa state after security forces captured one of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s sons, who is wanted by the US on drug trafficking charges. Defence Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said Army and National Guard personnel captured 32-year-old Ovidio Guzman in a pre-dawn operation in Culiacan. Three years

More than 40% of Earth’s glacial mass could disappear if humanity keeps investing in fossil fuels, warns a stark new projection. The bleak scenario would mean more than two thirds of the total number of glaciers would vanish by the end of the century, contributing to ever-increasing sea levels around the world. Lead researcher David

He made history during his life – and now, Pope Benedict XVI will do so in death. For the first time in many hundreds of years, the Vatican will hold a funeral service for a former pope, presided over by the present Pope. The service begins this morning after three days in which Benedict’s body,

Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon”, has been removed from his role as head of Russia’s war in Ukraine only three months into the job. He has been replaced by chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov, who is head of the Russian military. The change was announced by defence minister Sergei Shoigu, and was described

In the forest and snowed-over swamps of Ukraine’s 621-mile border with Belarus is a territorial defence unit gearing up for the worst. The 100th Brigade is mostly made up of volunteers – some teachers, plumbers, builders – who have enlisted to fortify the edges of the Volynska region and prepare against another Russian invasion from