World

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has been shot and killed by an unidentified gunman while at a political rally in Quito. The killing comes amid an alarming wave of violence in the country, with drug trafficking and violent killings on the rise. Incumbent president, Guillermo Lasso, suggested an organised crime gang was behind the killing.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has said he would welcome home refugees who escaped the country’s long-running civil war. In an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia, he blamed the country’s economic situation as the reason why refugees are not returning to their homeland, pointing to the “image of war” in Syria for the lack

Russia is planning to build up its forces at its western borders following Finland’s accession to NATO, the country’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu has said. The defence minister also noted Poland had already announced plans to strengthen its military, and that he expected significant NATO forces and weaponry to be deployed in Finland. Finland’s inclusion

A YouTube chef has been charged with murdering and dismembering a Colombian surgeon on a Thai island. Daniel Sancho Bronchalo has been charged with premeditated murder, which carries a possible death penalty, and with concealment of a body to cover up the death, said Surat Thani provincial police commander Saranyu Chamnanrat. The 29-year-old was taken

Niger has closed its airspace until further notice citing the threat of military intervention from the West African regional bloc after coup leaders rejected a deadline to reinstate the country’s ousted president. The airspace was closed by the junta on Sunday “in the face of the threat of intervention that is becoming more apparent,” a

Another Russian warship listing in the water is probably not the image Vladimir Putin had in mind for his beloved Black Sea fleet – but it does demonstrate the increasing effectiveness of Ukraine’s sea drones. The last few days have seen two attacks on Russian ships, both reportedly carried out by Ukrainian unmanned vessels. In

A deadline for Niger’s coup leaders to stand down and reinstate the country’s elected president has arrived. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Friday its defence chiefs had drawn up a plan for military action if the junta, which has said it will not bow to outside pressure, did not comply

Ukraine is embroiled in a fight for its very survival as an independent state. Although Moscow is able to strike Ukrainian territory with impunity, the West will not allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to strike Russia across the border for fear of an escalation. But is this limitation preventing Ukraine from striking a potentially

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

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

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

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

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