World

A New Zealand couple who believed they had dug up the world’s largest potato, have had their hopes mashed, after Guinness World Records confirmed it was not a potato after all. The spud looking plant, known as a tuber, was discovered last August at the couple’s farm near Hamilton when Colin Craig-Brown and his wife

Both Russia and Ukraine appear more optimistic ahead of another scheduled round of peace talks – even as Moscow continues its assaults on Kyiv and other major cities. With Moscow’s ground advance on the Ukrainian capital stalled, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said a neutral military status for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed” by the

A theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of people are reported to have been sheltering has been bombed by Russian forces, local officials have said. The city council said the number of casualties was not yet known, but Sky News has verified footage from the attack as showing the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre. A satellite image

“All the hallmarks of a war crime.” That’s how the UN’s human rights monitor for Myanmar has described a mass killing that Sky News has been investigating. The massacre happened near Mo So in Kayah state on Christmas Eve, leaving at least 37 people dead. It’s an area which has seen heavy fighting between local

Ukraine’s military chief has said his forces would defend the country “until the last drop of blood” as he urged people to calm down about threats of a new Russian invasion. Lieutenant-General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, 48, repeatedly underlined that Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014, telling Sky News in an exclusive interview: “It

Denmark’s foreign intelligence chief has been remanded in custody amid allegations he was involved in the leak of “highly classified” information. Lars Findsen, 57, is among four current and former employees of the Danish intelligence services who were detained in December over the alleged leak. Now Findsen is the only suspect to remain in custody

Novak Djokovic has won his appeal against deportation from Australia, with a judge reinstating his visa and ordering that he be released from hotel quarantine within 30 minutes. Border officials previously ruled that the tennis star did not meet the criteria for a COVID exemption to entry requirements. Djokovic had spent four nights in an

The Australian government did not tell Novak Djokovic that his “so-called medical exemption” would allow him to enter the country to compete in the Australian Open, court documents claim. On Sunday, the government filed 13 pages of documents ahead of a hearing later to decide whether the Serbian tennis star can remain in the country

Seven people have died after a slab of rock broke off a cliff and crashed onto pleasure boaters near a waterfall in Brazil. Three people are still missing, and nine were seriously injured in the freak accident which took place between the towns of Sao Jose da Barra and Capitolio. Edgard Estevo, commander of the

At least 56 people have been killed in an air strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, according to Reuters. There were at least 30 others injured in the bombing on Friday night, two aid workers told the news agency, citing local authorities and eyewitness accounts. The workers

Novak Djokovic, who is fighting deportation from Australia, tested positive for COVID-19 on 16 December, according to court documents. The world tennis number one is in immigration detention after having his visa cancelled when he arrived in Melbourne on Thursday. Djokovic said in his court application that he had a valid visa and medical exemption

Legendary Hollywood actor and first black man to win an Oscar, Sir Sidney Poitier, has died at the age of 94, a Bahamian government official has said. In 1964, he made history by clinching the Academy of Motion Pictures statuette for his work in Lilies of the Field, and went on to appear in dozens

Novak Djokovic’s wife has thanked his fans for “using your voice to send love to my husband” while he remains in a quarantine hotel in Australia amid a row over a COVID-19 vaccine medical exemption. The world number one is awaiting the outcome of an appeal against the decision by the Australian Border Force (ABF)

A former Australian Open quarter-finalist has warned that “caged” Novak Djokovic would be a fearsome opponent on court if he makes it out of quarantine. Like the Serbian superstar, Tennys Sandgren is not jabbed against COVID, but the American has chosen to miss his first Australian Open in a decade because of his vaccination status.

Novak Djokovic will have to wait until Monday to discover whether he can play in the Australian Open after being denied entry to the country over COVID vaccination rules. Djokovic faces deportation after his visa application was cancelled – having thought he could enter Australia through a medical exemption to avoid COVID vaccination. A court

A third state of emergency has been declared in Kazakhstan – with the alert now raised in the capital Nur-Sultan – after violent protests broke out in several major cities. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the order “to ensure public safety, restore law and order, protect the rights and freedoms of citizens”, according to the Zakon.kz

A state of emergency has been declared in Kazakhstan following major protests over fuel prices. It includes a curfew running from 11pm to 7am, restrictions on movement, and a ban on mass gatherings, according to documents on the president’s website. It has also been announced that a price cap controversially removed on New Year’s Day

Tesla has been criticised for opening a new showroom in Xinjiang, the Chinese region where authorities are accused of widespread abuse against Uyghur Muslims. The US-based electric car maker, led by Elon Musk, announced the opening in Urumqi, Xingiang’s capital, on Friday, declaring on social media: “Let’s start Xinjiang’s all-electric journey.” But the move drew

Apple has become the world’s first company with a $3tn (£2.2tn) stock market value. On the first day of trading in 2022, the Silicon Valley-based tech company’s shares briefly hit a record of $182.88 around midday on Monday. The stock later pulled back from that level, closing 2.5% higher at $182.01. The iPhone maker passed $2tn

Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has said doctors are assessing whether he needs surgery after being admitted to hospital with abdominal discomfort. Mr Bolsonaro said in a Twitter post that he had started to feel unwell after lunch on Sunday and was admitted to hospital in Sao Paulo at 3am local time (6am in the UK)