World

Germany’s ruling coalition is on the brink of collapse, triggering potential political chaos in Europe’s largest economy. It means Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democratic Party (SDP) face heading a minority government after sacking his finance minister Christian Lindner from the pro-business Free Democrats Party (FDP). Mr Scholz made the decision after weeks of

Ireland’s prime minister has announced the planned date for a general election to be held this month. Taoiseach Simon Harris said he hopes the election will take place on 29 November, formally kicking off a truncated campaign which will last mere weeks. Mr Harris, 38, was appointed Irish prime minister – the youngest in the

Donald Trump has secured a fourth battleground state in the race for the White House, confirming his victory in the US election. Mr Trump is projected to win the crucial swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Democrat Kamala Harris hoped to become the first woman US president – but there is now

Ukraine has begun firing on North Korean troops inside Russia for the first time since they were deployed in the conflict, a Kyiv official said. They added that Pyongyang’s units were struck in the Kursk region of Russia following a deployment that was criticised by the US and Ukraine’s other Western allies. US, South Korean

Israel has ended an agreement that facilitated the work of the main United Nations relief organisation for Palestinian refugees. UNRWA, which is the biggest aid provider in Gaza, has been infiltrated by Hamas, according to Israel which has accused some of the agency’s staff of participating in the 7 October attack in the south of

Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu has won a second term in office after defeating her pro-Russian rival. With nearly 98% of votes counted in the second round of the presidential race held on Sunday, Ms Sandu had obtained 54% of the total votes, according to the website of the country’s Central Electoral Commission. This compared

It’s 13 December 2023. Excited reports of a “landmark” global climate agreement reverberate around the world from the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. At around 11am, weary diplomats with circles under their eyes from fierce, all-night negotiations cheer, cry and hug. The US’s climate envoy John Kerry throws his arms around German foreign minister Annalena

Israel claims it has captured a senior Hezbollah operative after conducting a seaborne raid in northern Lebanon early on Friday. The “special operation” in the coastal town of Batroun marks the first time Israel has acknowledged deploying troops that far north during its current campaign against Hezbollah. “The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory

Moscow has warned the US it should take Russia’s nuclear warnings seriously to avoid World War Three. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council and who served as the country’s president from 2008 to 2012, warned the US on Saturday it was “wrong” to believe “that the Russians will never cross a certain line”.

“We sat in the yard from 8am to 5pm under the sun with no water or food.” Sixteen-year-old Mohammed* was separated from his mother by Israeli forces as his family tried to flee northern Gaza. Mohammed’s mother was taken to a “sandy pit” with other women and children and sat in the heat for hours

Google has reportedly racked up a fine of more than two undecillion rubles – two followed by 36 zeros – after it removed state-run and pro-government accounts from YouTube. Put another way, an undecillion is a trillion times a trillion times a trillion. The fine is far greater than the world’s total GDP, estimated at

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has said he hopes a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel will be announced “within hours”. Najib Mikati made the comments after speaking to US envoy Amos Hochstein. According to Israeli broadcaster Kan, which published details of Lebanon’s proposed draft, it would see Israeli forces pull out within seven days of

England rugby star Joe Marler has caused controversy after branding New Zealand’s pre-match haka “ridiculous” and saying it “needs binning”. The 34-year-old prop deactivated his X account following his comments over the All Blacks’ tradition – before later returning to social media and claiming he was “just having a bit of fun”. England are set

Multiple people are believed to be trapped after a 10-storey hotel building collapsed in Argentina. Rescue teams are currently working to remove debris after part of the Dubrovnik hotel in the coastal city of Villa Gesell, in Buenos Aires province, collapsed at around 1am local time, the local council said. Between seven and nine people,

The oil price has dropped steeply as tensions in the Middle East appeared to ease. For the first time since the very start of the month, the cost of a barrel of the benchmark oil Brent crude is below $72 at $71.93. The oil price stood at $76 on Friday evening, before Monday morning’s fall

A shock parliamentary election result in Japan has left the country in political limbo, after its ruling coalition suffered a rare defeat with no party winning enough seats to be given a clear mandate to lead. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito secured 215 seats in the

The dusty corridors, broken windows, and locked doors of the apartment block in central Beirut are testament to Lebanon’s ongoing economic disaster. But this relic of one crisis has been repurposed for the latest. Hundreds of people fleeing Israeli bombing in the south of the country have come here – and taken over the building.

Georgia’s ruling party has won the country’s general election, beating its pro-EU and pro-Western opposition. The Central Election Commission (CEC) said the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has been in power for 12 years, had won 54% of the vote with more than 99% of precincts counted. Both Georgian Dream and the opposition blocs trying

Iran’s president has warned against further attacks on his country after Israel targeted military sites in pre-dawn airstrikes on Saturday. In a statement on X, Masoud Pezeshkian gave his condolences to the families of the four people killed in the attacks and said Iran would continue to defend itself. “Enemies of Iran should know these

Israel’s unprecedented night of airstrikes across Iran may be just what was needed to pull the Middle East back from all-out war. That might sound odd because for hours, it seems, Israeli jets ranged freely across Iranian airspace, apparently attacking targets and air defences at will in a flagrant violation of Iranian sovereignty and provocation,