World

At least five people have died and another eight are missing after a massive explosion at a chemical plant in north-eastern China, according to state TV in the country. The blast occurred at 3.13pm local time (7.13am GMT) on Sunday, just outside the city of Panjin in Liaoning province, east of Beijing. A further 30

The black box and cockpit voice recorder of the plane that crashed in Nepal have been found, a Kathmandu Airport official has said. The ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Yeti Airlines, was carrying 72 people when it crashed. Rescuers called off their search on Monday evening local time with two people still unaccounted for, and

A plane carrying 72 people has crashed in Nepal, killing at least 68, officials have said. Video on local media showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft. Footage on social media showed the plane flying low before beginning to spin. At

At least 30 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on a residential block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, as part of a massive wave of attacks targeting civilians and energy infrastructure alike. A further 30 to 40 people could still be trapped under debris. Rescue teams worked through the night in

The nephew of a British-Iranian national who was put to death by hanging in Iran has spoken of his shock, describing the execution as a “political game”. Official Iranian news sources reported on Saturday that Alireza Akbari, the country’s former deputy defence minister, had been executed on charges of spying for Britain, but did not

China has reported almost 60,000 COVID-related deaths since early December after the country dropped its strict lockdown restrictions. The announcement follows complaints that the Chinese government was failing to release data about the status of the pandemic. China dropped its strict zero COVID policy on 7 December, leading to a surge in infections among the

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

Donald Trump proposed attacking North Korea with a nuclear weapon in meetings with aides and said that the US could blame the attack on another country, according to a book about his presidency. Mr Trump is said to have made the remarks in 2017, his first year in office, when he was especially belligerent in

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. Ukraine war latest – Putin dealing with an ‘internal power struggle’ A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development

A man with a home-made weapon 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.

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 Britons 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. ‘The whole ground is covered in corpses’ – Ukraine war latest The pair were last seen

The UK is considering supplying Ukraine with British tanks for the first time to fight Russia’s invading forces, Sky News understands. Discussions have been taking place “for a few weeks” about delivering a number of the British Army’s Challenger 2 main battle tank to the Ukrainian armed forces, a Western source with knowledge of the

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

Brazilian President Lula da Silva has said rioters will be found and punished with the “full force of the law” after supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s presidential palace, Congress, Supreme Court and ministries’ building. Footage and images on social media show what looked like thousands of people, many draped in

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