World

Azerbaijan is observing a national day of mourning after 38 people were killed in a plane crash – as footage from inside the aircraft emerged. People can be heard praying as oxygen masks are lowered on board the Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190, in a clip filmed by a passenger before the plane went down. The

Ukrainians sheltered in metro stations on Christmas morning as Russian missiles and drones rained down on their cities. Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that he said sought to plunge his people into darkness. “Putin deliberately chose Christmas,” he said on Wednesday. “What could be more inhumane?” Russia’s defence ministry said it

Dozens are feared dead after a passenger plane carrying 67 people crashed in Kazakhstan, the country’s emergencies ministry said. Preliminary data suggests 25 people survived the crash, authorities have said. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was en route from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia, but was rerouted due to fog. It crashed near the

The sense of hollowness of the Church of the Nativity is deeper than absent tourists. The chants and prayers are pain-stricken and desperate. Down in the manger by the enshrined spot where baby Jesus was said to be born, a priest solemnly swings incense into the corners. Image: Bethlehem’s Christian community struggles to celebrate amid

Hundreds of people have protested in Christian areas of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a video emerged showing hooded fighters setting a Christmas tree on fire elsewhere in the country. “We demand the rights of Christians,” demonstrators chanted as they marched through the city on Christmas Eve. The overthrow of Bashar al Assad by

Slovakia’s prime minister has drawn criticism from across Europe and from his own people after his surprise visit to Moscow for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin on Sunday. Robert Fico is only the third EU leader to visit Mr Putin in Moscow since the Russian president ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine

The iconic crocodile who starred in hit film Crocodile Dundee has died, his zoo has announced. Crocosaurus Cove, where Burt had been kept since 2008, said he passed away “peacefully” over the weekend. He was estimated to be over 90 years old, well over the usual life expectancy. “Burt was truly one of a kind.

The mother of a nine-year-old boy killed in the German Christmas market attack has paid tribute to “my little teddy bear”. Andre Gleissner was one of at least five people who died, while more than 200 others were injured when a car ploughed into crowds in Magdeburg on Friday evening. German Christmas market attack –

As we stare at a bullet-ridden wall, two young Palestinian boys stand behind us on a stoop and look on in fearful awe. “It’s the military,” one boy in a beige hoodie tells his friend. His friend stares at the wall with wide eyes and gives a little nod. Balata camp in Nablus, the commercial

The suspect in the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg appeared to be dissatisfied with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany, a prosecutor has said. On Friday evening, a car was driven at speed into visiting crowds in the central German city. Five people have died so far – including a nine-year-old child

A police investigation is under way after a car was “driven at speed” into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany. At least two people have been killed, including a small child, and dozens of others have been injured following the incident in Magdeburg, according to local officials. They say the suspect is a

At least one person has been killed and dozens of others injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany, local media reports. News agency dpa said the driver had been arrested following the incident in the eastern city of Magdeburg, while AFP news agency reports 60-80 people have

Vladimir Putin has said Russia should have invaded Ukraine earlier, in a national address spanning more than four hours. Russia began the conflict with its neighbour in February 2022 and at his annual televised news conference, Mr Putin claimed the war has made Russia “stronger”. The decision to invade “should have been made earlier” he

It is a crime so brutal and depraved it defies words – so outside the court, they applaud instead. Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse Since September, people have lined the route in Avignon clapping as Gisele Pelicot walks past. It is a wordless act of support for the 72-year-old woman at the

A man who repeatedly drugged his then wife and invited strangers to rape her while she was unconscious has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after a historic mass trial. Dominique Pelicot, 72, had confessed to all the charges and admitted he mixed sedatives into the food and drink of his wife, Gisele Pelicot,

Ukraine cannot remove Russian troops from the land they occupy in the east of the country and Crimea, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted. While Kyiv would never recognise Russia’s rule, he said diplomacy is the only option to get President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his army. It comes less than a month after he gave similar