Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school last month, a UN source and local media said on Sunday, though the fate of another 165 students and staff thought to remain in captivity remained unclear. In November 315 students and
Paul Seddon and Rachel Muller-Heyndyk UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London on Monday amid a continuing deadlock in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Zelensky will attend the talks in Downing Street alongside French President Emmanuel Mac
Gunmen have stormed into a hostel in South Africa’s capital and killed at least 12 people, including a three-year-old child, and injured more than a dozen others. Police said they had launched a “manhunt” for three people and were investigating whether the killings were linked to a bar within the ho
Young people on benefits will be offered job opportunities in industries such as construction and hospitality in a bid to tackle rising youth unemployment. The government will fund 350,000 training and work experience placements, and will guarantee 55,000 jobs in areas it says are in the highest nee
Fresh fighting in eastern DR Congo has forced hundreds to flee across the border into Rwanda, a day after a peace deal was signed in Washington DC. Thursday’s agreement was meant to stabilise the resource-rich east but it has had little visible effect on the ground so far, in an area plagued by conf
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The World Cup has been increased from 32 to 48 teams for 2026 By Harry Poole BBC Sport journalist England will begin their World Cup 2026 campaign against Croatia, while Scotland have been drawn alongside Brazil at next summer's tournament. Thomas Tuchel's E
The US is considering a much broader range of sanctions on the belligerents in the war in Sudan, in a tacit acknowledgment of the inability of the US envoy Massad Boulos to persuade the parties to accept a ceasefire. Last week Donald Trump announced that work had begun to end the war after a persona
Mark Savage Music correspondent Watch: Which countries are boycotting Eurovision and why? Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, after Israel was allowed to compete. They were among a number of countries who had called for Israel to be excluded ov
The Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama has become the first African to be named the most influential figure in the art world in ArtReview magazine’s annual power list. Mahama, whose work often uses found materials including textile remnants, topped the ranking of the contemporary art world’s most influe
Reuters US special envoy and the US President's son-in-law Jared Kushner attended talks in Moscow this week US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the head of Ukraine's national security council, Rustem Umerov, for talks in Miami on Thursday, the White House has confirmed. The meeting comes after
Donald Trump on Tuesday called Somali immigrants “garbage” and said they should be sent back home in a rant that came as the administration is reportedly increasing immigration enforcement against undocumented Somalis in Minnesota. In a xenophobic rant during a cabinet meeting, Trump went off on Som
Maia Davies and Laura Gozzi Five hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's senior negotiator appear to have failed to produce a breakthrough on securing a Ukraine peace deal. A Kremlin spokesman said the Moscow meeting was "constructive", but parts of th
