One of Jacob Zuma’s daughters has filed a criminal complaint alleging her sister recruited South African men to fight alongside Russian mercenary forces in the Ukraine war.Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube says Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a member of parliament, and two others persuaded 17 men to travel abroad by telling them they were going to Russia to train as bodyguards for the former president’s party,...

The Royal Navy intercepted and shadowed two Russian ships as they sailed west through the Dover Strait into the English Channel, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.HMS Severn moved to intercept the corvette Stoikiy and the tanker Yelnya in the past fortnight before handing monitoring duties to a NATO vessel off the coast of Brittany.Severn remained nearby, observing from a safe distance and...

Seven suspects have appeared in a Dresden court accused of belonging to a militant far-left cell dubbed Antifa Ost, or the "hammer gang." Prosecutors say the group carried out a string of brutal assaults in Germany and in Budapest.The defendants — six men and one woman — face serious counts including attempted murder, aggravated assault and damage to property.German privacy rules mean they...

As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the Budget, ordinary Britons are voicing clear and varied priorities.From housing taxes to care for disabled people, voters across incomes have specific asks they want reflected in government plans.Wesley Thorne, 52, and his wife Toni run a sweets business near Bristol and say moving into a larger home is out of reach because stamp duty could tack...

Rachel Reeves has appealed for cohesion within Labour as she gets ready to present a Budget she says is crucial to the party's electoral chances.Speaking to Labour's Parliamentary Party on Monday evening, the chancellor urged MPs to back the package in full if they want to take power at the next election.The Budget, due on Wednesday after weeks of speculation, is expected to include measures to...

When Keira’s daughter arrived last November she had only a couple of hours with her mother before being placed in foster care.The 39-year-old describes the moment as devastating and now visits her baby for one hour a week, bringing Greenlandic food and small reminders of home.Keira is one of many Greenlandic parents living on the Danish mainland who say their children were removed after...

A freshly revised peace framework unveiled after intense talks in Geneva may be acceptable to Kyiv — but key issues still stand in the way of a deal.Washington had pushed for a rapid agreement ahead of Thanksgiving, but Kyiv balked when the initial proposal appeared heavily tilted toward Moscow’s demands.That prompted high-level delegations from Ukraine, the US, Germany, France and the UK to...

The chair of the Commons culture committee has raised serious doubts about the BBC board’s ability to manage the broadcaster’s current crisis after its chair, Samir Shah, gave evidence to MPs.Dame Caroline Dinenage said Shah’s responses fell short of the clear, decisive plan the committee wanted to hear and warned there appeared to be weak oversight at the top of the organisation.Shah told...

Diplomacy in Geneva wrapped up with US and Ukrainian officials saying talks had moved forward, but the biggest obstacle remains unresolved: Moscow's insistence on formal recognition of territory it now controls. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the steps taken in the meetings but warned that accepting Russian claims to occupied areas would violate Ukraine's territorial integrity...

A Paris administrative court has provisionally stopped the planned auction and export of La Pascaline, the calculating device built by Blaise Pascal in 1642. The ruling follows a legal appeal by scientists and heritage advocates who asked that the instrument be designated a national treasure and protected under France's heritage laws. Christie's had prepared to offer the machine as part of the...