World

Millions of people in India have celebrated Diwali, with residents in Uttar Pradesh setting a Guinness World Record for the mass lighting of oil lamps – despite concerns over air pollution. In honour of the Hindu festival, homes and streets across the country were covered in dazzling multi-coloured lights. At the Saryu river in Ayodhya,

A newborn baby has died and dozens more are at risk at Gaza’s largest hospital after it ran out of power, Palestinian officials have said. Israeli troops have been closing in on al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, which Israel says is a command centre for the Hamas militant group. Fighting near the hospital and

Iceland has declared a state of emergency after thousands of tremors raised fears of a volcanic eruption. Authorities have ordered thousands living in the southwestern town of Grindavik to evacuate as a precaution and have closed the nearby Blue Lagoon tourist attraction. The area around Mount Thorbjorn on the Reykjanes Peninsula has been shaken by

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalates and the number of Palestinian civilian casualties climbs, what is Israel seeking to achieve with its military response to the Hamas attacks? Conducting an effective joint (air, land and maritime) military offensive campaign requires considerable planning and preparation. Although the Israeli political objective of “destroying Hamas” creates an

You would need a large piece of paper to list every national crisis faced by the people of Lebanon over the past 50 years. This multi-religious nation has long struggled to make itself work, with political disagreements ending in violent confrontation – and a 15-year civil war. The current situation offers few reasons to feel

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing Gaza neighbourhoods where Israeli ground forces have been battling Hamas militants. Fighting between Israel and Hamas has intensified in the north and in the capital of Gaza City – forcing thousands to flee to the south. Israeli strikes have pounded Gaza City overnight – and Israeli troops were

Saturn’s iconic rings will briefly disappear from view in less than 18 months – and will not return to their full viewing glory until the 2030s, NASA has said. Scientists said the famous rings will effectively vanish from the view of stargazers on Earth because Saturn will be heading into an “equinox” event. The gas

A hotel room in Egypt where a British couple died was next door to a room that had been sprayed with chemicals to kill bed bugs only hours before their deaths, an inquest has heard. John Cooper, 69, and his wife Susan, 63, from Burnley in Lancashire died on 21 August 2018 in the Egyptian

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an “indefinite period” after its war with Hamas. The Israeli prime minister’s comments are the clearest indication of his country’s plans to maintain control over the Gaza Strip, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. Mr Netanyahu told ABC News that Israel should

The Lebanese foreign minister has told Sky News that discussions with Hezbollah and its Iranian funders have left him “less pessimistic” about the outbreak of a wider war in the Middle East region. “No one wants war,” Abdallah Bou Habib told us from his office in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. “And I don’t think they’ll

Five people – including two children – have been killed and six others injured after a car crashed into a pub’s outdoor dining area in Australia. Four people, including a boy, two men in their 30s and a woman in her 40s died at the scene after a BMW SUV mounted a kerb and drove

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected claims the war with Russia is at a “stalemate”.  In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ US partner NBC News, the Ukrainian president acknowledged Kyiv’s progress had been slow and said there was “fatigue” with the conflict. But he insisted his military was “still more motivated than any Russians who came

An earthquake in Nepal has killed at 69 people – with more deaths expected to be confirmed, officials say. The earthquake struck the west of the country as many people were already asleep on Friday night. Witnesses said it caused houses to collapse and communications to many villages are said to have been cut. The

Even with four days there seemed a lot to do in Kenya. This was a moment for the King to define his vision for the Commonwealth. But it was also a chance to address historic colonial violence. This year marks sixty years of Kenyan independence, but many in the country still seek a formal apology

One of Kenya’s most senior politicians says moves are under way to “amend” the country’s defence agreement with the UK following the alleged murder of a Kenyan woman by British soldiers. Agnes Wanjiru was killed in 2012 and her body dumped in a septic tank. An inquest held in 2019 concluded she had been murdered

Israel’s military says it was targeting a Hamas commander in a strike on a refugee camp in Gaza in which dozens of people are believed to have died. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) say the commander of Hamas’s Central Jabaliya Battalion, who it says was one of the leaders of the massacres in Israel on

Israel said its forces have attacked Hamas gunmen inside the militant group’s vast tunnel network beneath Gaza as fighting shows no sign of stopping. After the first successful rescue of a hostage held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a ceasefire and vowed to crush the group’s ability to govern Gaza.

Israel will not agree to a ceasefire as it would be equivalent to surrendering to Hamas and terrorism, Benjamin Nethanyu has said. The Israeli prime minister said his country would not stop military activity “just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the terrorist attack

Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip “will escalate”, the country’s chief military spokesperson has warned, as troops push deeper into the region. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops are deployed along the northern border and “prepared for any scenario”. Dozens of militants were killed overnight, he added, but he refused

Israel has warned of a long war to defeat Hamas, but it will surely be hoping to achieve its other main objective much faster – the rescue of more than 200 hostages. Ground troops have pushed into Gaza in what is being described the “second stage” of their offensive against the militant group that controls