World

At least 30 people have been killed in a mass shooting by a sacked policeman at a children’s day care centre in Thailand. The victims included 22 children – some as young as two years old – as well as adults, authorities said, adding that the gunman was a former police officer. A manhunt was

Artillery strikes are playing a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine in what top American commanders have called a “battle of fires”. Russia’s military initially had a significant advantage over the Ukrainian armed forces because of a much larger arsenal of artillery systems. It meant they were able to devastate Ukrainian positions in the

Vladimir Putin has signed laws absorbing four Ukrainian regions into Russia, finalising the annexation of the occupied territories in defiance of international outcry. It follows the so-called referenda in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, rejected as a sham by Ukraine and the West. The areas being annexed are not even under full control of Russian

Vladimir Putin’s mounting problems in Ukraine make Russia’s use of a tactical nuclear weapon more likely, a senior US expert has told Sky News. Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to be used on a battlefield. John Bolton, a former US national security adviser and ambassador to the United Nations, said that the Russian president is

More losses for Russia in Ukraine, this time around Kherson. Ukraine’s long-telegraphed Kherson counter-offensive is making some headway along the western banks of the Dnipro river, between the villages of Zolota Balka and Dudchany around 100km north of the port city. Ukraine makes biggest breakthrough in the south – live updates Russia’s ministry of defence

Ukrainian forces have captured more villages in Kherson, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, just days after Vladimir Putin claimed the region as part of Russia. The Ukrainian president announced the liberation of settlements Arkhanhelske and Myrolyubikva from Russia in his daily address. The Moscow-installed leader of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, described the situation as “tense” on Russian

The number of children who died in a stampede at a football match in Indonesia has risen to 32. At least 125 people were killed in the crush on Saturday following the game between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya in the city of Malang. Families and friends of some of the dead have begun mourning

The rush to escape being crushed as police lose control at an Indonesian football match felt grimly familiar for Simon McMenemy. For the last decade, the Scotsman has contended with the heated and dangerous experience of coaching in Indonesia – including as manager of the national team. Speaking to Sky News from the southeast Asian

At least 174 people have been killed in a riot at a football match in Indonesia, most of whom were trampled to death after police fired tear gas, in one of the world’s worst sporting disasters. Violence flared at the end of the game in Malang, East Java, where hosts Arema lost 3-2 to Persebaya

Russian troops have pulled out of the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine due to the risk they were being encircled by Ukrainian forces, the Kremlin has said. Lyman is in Donetsk – one of the Ukrainian regions that was annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a ceremony in Moscow on Friday. And Mr

There was an awful near silence as the war crime investigators went about their business and the bodies of the victims were methodically packed into body bags. We counted at least 15 body bags being loaded one on top of each other into a succession of ambulances. The death toll is higher and includes several

The biggest landgrab since the Second World War. A dictator threatening the use of nuclear weapons. The world’s most important institution meant to guarantee global security, the UN Security Council, rendered impotent yet again with one of its permanent members doing exactly what it was set up to prevent. The West’s response: a strategy that has

Vladimir Putin has for seven months insisted his invasion of Ukraine was only a special military operation. That way he hoped the conflict would seem distant and contained to the broad Russian public. With his military suffering setback after setback, a week ago he announced the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists. But even

The Finnish government has said it will ban anyone coming into the country with a tourist visa from Friday following thousands of arrivals after Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation order. Finland closing its border shuts off the last remaining direct land route to the European Union for Russians trying to avoid conscription into the war with Ukraine.

A fourth leak has been reported on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Swedish coastguard told newspaper Svenska Dagbladet it had found the leak on Nord Stream 2 earlier this week. It comes after three other leaks were reported on the pipelines – which run from Russia to Germany – with sabotage widely suspected. “Two of

A suspected act of sabotage – possibly by Russia – against gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea was likely a premeditated attack using underwater explosive devices detonated remotely, according to a British defence source. The source said any mines could have been lowered to the seabed on a long line, dropped over the side of

Analysis: Pipeline attacks mean Ukrainian war is ‘now going to the Baltic’ Professor Michael Clarke, a security and defence analyst, said leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea were caused by “three explosions near the seabed”. He added it is “clearly an act of sabotage”, as you need a submarine to

Mysterious leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipe network began with “powerful subsea blasts” and resulted from “deliberate actions”. Two pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany were damaged in a total of three places on Monday. Nord Stream AG, the owner, described the breakages as “unprecedented”. The pipes were not pumping gas to Europe

Leaders from across the world have gathered for the state funeral of Japan’s assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe. More than 4,300 people attended the event, which has caused nationwide protests, in Tokyo’s Budokan Hall as thousands of armed police were posted around the capital. Mr Abe, the country’s longest-serving leader, died after being shot

New satellite images showing large numbers of Russians fleeing to Georgia and Mongolia have been released after Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine. The images show queues of vehicles – cargo trucks and cars – waiting in long traffic jams attempting to get over the borders.