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

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 suicide bomb attack outside the foreign ministry in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul has killed at least 20 people and injured many others, the Taliban have said. The attacker had planned to enter the foreign office but did not succeed, a spokesman said. A photo of the area posted on social media showed at least nine

The family of one of the British aid workers missing in Ukraine have said they are “very worried and concerned” about his health and whereabouts. Chris Parry, 28, was last seen on Friday morning leaving Kramatorsk for Soledar with fellow Briton Andrew Bagshaw before contact was lost. In a statement his family said: “We are

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

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

Afghans have called for Prince Harry to face prosecution for the deaths of the people he admitted killing during his time fighting in the country for the UK military. In his highly anticipated book, Spare, Harry reveals he killed 25 fighters and says he did not think of them as “people”, but instead as “chess

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

The survivors of a fatal mid-air collision involving two helicopters have heaped praise on their “hero” pilot for landing their stricken aircraft safely, as dramatic new images show them being rescued from the crash. Pictures show Marie and Edward Swart and Elmarie and Riaan Steenberg, two couples from New Zealand, being evacuated from the grounded

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

Multiple videos of a crowd in China attacking and flipping over a police car have gone viral on social media, marking another incident of civil disobedience that has broken through the country’s wall of digital censorship. A large group of people gathered in Luyi County, Henan, on 2 January, where it’s understood that frustrations against

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 will begin in the morning, after three days in which Benedict’s

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

The landscape around the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut has come to resemble a First World War battlefield, the ground carved up by artillery and cut with networks of trenches. For months, Russian forces including Wagner Group mercenaries have relentlessly attacked the city as they pursue full control of the Donbas region, but to no avail.

Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Kevin McCarthy to become the new House of Representatives speaker as chaos gripped the Republicans when hardliners blocked the appointment. Republican bosses had planned to replace Democrat speaker Nancy Pelosi with party leader Mr McCarthy after wrestling control of the House in the recent midterm elections But the