World

At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured after a gunman opened fire at a university in the Russian city of Perm, officials have said. The gunman at Perm State University was “neutralised”, according to the independent Russian news agency Interfax. The Russian Investigative Committee said the suspect had been identified as a

Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is expected to secure an emphatic win as polls close in the country’s parliamentary election. Preliminary results from the Central Election Committee, based on just 9% of ballots counted, showed that United Russia had won 38.57% of the vote. Initial results also showed the Communist Party finishing in second place

The Taliban has replaced Afghanistan’s women’s ministry with an all-male “vice and virtue ministry”. The new ministry is tasked with enforcing the group’s extreme interpretation of Islam. Officials at the ministry told the Associated Press they had not been informed whether a new women’s ministry is being planned. Please use Chrome browser for a more

Maintaining unity between Western allies will “require a lot of effort” in light of an unfolding rift between France and members of a new security partnership, Germany’s ambassador to the UK has said. Andreas Michaelis was responding to France recalling its ambassadors to the US and Australia, after the latter’s government ditched a multi-billion dollar

France has recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in a backlash over a new security partnership. The country’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the announcement following the deal between the UK, US and Australia – which aims to help Australia obtain nuclear-powered submarines. Mr Le Drian said in a statement that

The economic crisis in Lebanon is never-ending and now it’s ravaging the hospitals where medicines are running out. On the oncology outpatients ward we meet four-year-old Rudayana. She is fighting leukaemia but she still finds the strength to wipe a tear from her father Fawaz’s eyes. Image: The problems in healthcare are a symptom of

Google deleted a Russian tactical voting app from its online store after staff were threatened, sources at the tech giant have said. Both Apple and Google had come under significant pressure from Russian regulators to block the anti-government app, devised by allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny ahead of Friday’s election starting. The app

Around 3,000 health workers in France have been suspended, reportedly without pay, for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of a deadline this week to have at least one jab. It comes as care workers in England must get their first vaccine dose by today and be double jabbed by 11 November to keep

Fossil fuel companies are suing governments across the world for more than $18bn (£13bn) after action against climate change has threatened their profits, according to research conducted by campaign group Global Justice Now and provided exclusively to Sky News. Five energy companies, including British companies Rockhopper and Ascent, are using a legal process that allows

The UK, Australia and the United States have agreed a “landmark” partnership to boost their defences and share nuclear submarine secrets at a time of growing concern over China. The initiative will focus initially on helping the Australian navy procure a multi-billion-pound fleet of nuclear-powered submarines – a move that Beijing will likely see as

Three former US intelligence and military officers have admitted working as mercenaries for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and carrying out sophisticated hacking operations targeting victims in America. The charges against them are published amid growing concerns that foreign states may be compromising US security by recruiting intelligence personnel to bolster their own capabilities. The

Many of the women of Afghanistan are frightened right now. And those who worked for the foreigners who’ve pulled out of the country, are even more so. They are some of the top Taliban targets and too many of them are telling us how the Taliban are going from door to door, trying to find

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has met Vladimir Putin in Moscow – their first meeting in the Russian capital since 2015. Mr Putin congratulated his counterpart on winning May’s presidential election, according to the Kremlin. The election – in which Mr Assad is said to have won 95% of the vote – was dismissed as

An Afghan man suspected of raping and killing a 13-year-old girl in Austria has been arrested in the UK and faces extradition. Rasuili Zubaidullah, 22, entered the UK on a boat of refugees and claimed asylum using a fake name, only weeks after the girl was found dead in Vienna. He was housed at a

Ten million people are “likely to die” due to extreme temperatures if world leaders fail to agree significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a report has warned. Agricultural output could also drop by 30% by 2050 – even as the amount of food needed by growing populations is predicted to rise by 50%,

North Korea has successfully fired a new long range cruise missile, its state media has said. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the missile hit targets 932 miles away, flying along different patterns, in tests over North Korea during the weekend. It described the missile as “a strategic weapon of great significance”. South