Sweden yesterday became the 32nd member of Nato in the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment and capping two years of torturous diplomacy.   

A group of United Nations experts yesterday urged Britain to repatriate a woman stripped of her citizenship after leaving the country aged 15 to marry an Islamic State fighter.

At least 8,565 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2023, making it the deadliest year since records began a decade ago, the UN’s International Organization for Migration said yesterday.

Iran executed at least 834 people last year, the highest number since 2015, as capital punishment in the Islamic republic surged to a “staggering” level, human rights groups said yesterday.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk yesterday said China was violating fundamental rights in its Xinjiang and Tibet regions and called on Beijing to change course.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised a full investigation after a recording of confidential army talks on the Ukraine war was circulated on Russian social media, in a huge embarrassment for Berlin.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday promised a full investigation after what appeared to be a recording of confidential army talks on the Ukraine war was posted on Russian social media, in a potentially huge embarrassment for Berlin.

Russians queued yetserday to place flowers on the grave of late opposition politician Alexei Navalny, with mourners hailing him as a symbol of hope and perseverance the day after he was laid to rest in Moscow.

Extraction of Earth’s natural resources could surge 60 percent by 2060, imperilling climate goals and economic prosperity, the UN said yesterday, calling for dramatic changes in energy, food, transport and housing.

More than a billion people globally are now considered obese, a condition linked to an increased risk of numerous serious health problems, according to updated estimates from the World Health Organization and an international group of researchers.

The UK government announced a multi-million-pound package yesterday to boost the security of elected lawmakers who say they face increasing threats.

Russia said yesterday it would adopt unspecified military-technical and other counter measures to protect itself against Sweden joining Nato, a move it cast as aggressive and as a mistake.

Veteran Russian rights activist Oleg Orlov was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison yesterday for “discrediting the armed forces” by protesting against the war in Ukraine and accusing President Vladimir Putin of leading a descent into fascism.

The BBC Tuesday said yesterday it had apologised to the family of a man who they claimed was paid for sexually-explicit pictures when he was a teenager by the broadcaster’s star news anchor.

Germany, Britain and other European countries said yesterday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and Nato.

Russia on Tuesday ordered a six-month ban on gasoline exports from March 1 to keep prices stable amid rising demand from consumers and farmers and to allow for maintenance of refineries in the world's second-largest oil exporter

Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s Nato accession yesterday, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the simmering conflict of the Cold War.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his death, a close ally said yesterday, repeating an allegation by his family and supporters that President Vladimir Putin had him killed.

The Kremlin said yesterday that the idea of holding peace talks without Russia was ridiculous, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hoped to hold a spring summit in Switzerland to discuss his peace vision with Kyiv’s allies.

Sweden’s accession to Nato adds a final puzzle piece to the alliance around the shores of the strategically important Baltic Sea -- but Russia still poses a threat above and below water.