World

The war in Ukraine has wiped out half of Russia’s fleet of modern battle tanks, say analysts presenting their annual assessment of military power in the world. The staggering estimate was made by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Its ‘Military Balance 2023’ is the much-anticipated annual bible for military observers. Ukraine war –

After two days of diplomacy and negotiations, NATO’s meeting broke up with lots of ideas, but no deal to send fighter jets to Ukraine. Despite the smiles and bonhomie of Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, NATO’s resolve didn’t buckle. The question of supplying planes remains “under discussion”, we are told, but other things took precedence.

Three objects shot down by fighter jets over North America in the past week probably had a “commercial or benign” purpose, the White House has admitted. The US said it destroyed the objects out of an abundance of caution after an alleged Chinese spy balloon drifted across its airspace earlier this month. Expensive Sidewinder missiles,

Indian tax officials have raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi. Teams from the tax department surveyed the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting officials who were not identified. A BBC spokesperson said: “The income tax authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and

The US says it has recovered key sensors from the suspected Chinese spy balloon it shot down as tensions between the countries escalated. The Chinese balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel, spent a week flying over the US and Canada before President Joe Biden ordered it to be shot down off the

Rishi Sunak has said the UK is in “in touch” with allies after a minister claimed Chinese spy balloons may have already flown over the country. A number of flying objects have been shot down over North America during the past week, with a fourth taken out by fighter jets on Sunday on the orders

The World Health Organisation has said the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has “overwhelmed everyone” – amid warnings the flow of aid must be urgently sped up to save lives. The number of people killed in both countries continues to grow and now stands at more than 33,000. Dr Michael Ryan, WHO’s executive director,

In the wasteland that scars the centre of Kahramanmaras in Turkey, we watched a pair of rescuers perched in a digger’s scoop as they investigated a great pile of concrete. Their mobile bucket took them up into the sky as they probed a toppled building. No one had checked this spot before. It is not

Aid workers in Turkey say the security situation is deteriorating, leaving them struggling to help those affected by the recent earthquake. Monday’s 7.8 magnitude quake killed more than 24,600 people in Turkey and another 3,500 in Syria, and brought down thousands of buildings. Hope is fading for those still buried under the rubble, and frustration

We meet him at the Kilis border with his head hanging heavy and his eyes red from crying. Mohamed Kenno, 21, has just come back from taking the bodies of his uncle and young cousin to relatives in Syria to be buried in their border town home, Azaz. His family fled the Syrian civil war

Syria’s suffering is a unique desolation and inside Idlib we’ve seen the face of utter desperation. Here, they thought their plight couldn’t get any worse than running from shelling and cowering from regime bombs, but what was already an horrendously wretched life for millions, has become a whole lot more tragic since the earthquake. People

The air is filled with dust and smoke, the city marked with heaps of rubble – but there is evidence of life in Kahramanmaras. At the Ehbra apartment block we saw an Israeli rescue team exploring part of the structure, and as we arrived, they had made a life-saving discovery. A ripple of applause shot

The UK has sent thousands of thermal blankets to Turkey – and is planning to build a field hospital to treat those critically injured after Monday’s devastating earthquake. Rescue teams on the ground are making a final push to find survivors, in what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described as the “disaster of the

The heart of this disaster lies at the end of the highway which leads to Kahramanmaras, a bustling city of a million people, perched up in the mountains of central Turkey. The setting is spectacular but this community also sits along the East Anatolian Fault. When two major earthquakes ruptured the surface on Monday, the

Turkey’s president has admitted there have been “shortcomings” in his country’s reaction to the devastating earthquake that has killed over 15,000 people. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing growing criticism from families left frustrated by a slow response from rescue teams, as hope dwindles that more survivors will be found. At least 15,383 people across Turkey

More than 11,000 people have died after devastating earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria. The first 7.8 magnitude earthquake happened before dawn on Monday, when many people would have been sleeping. Rescue teams from around the world have travelled to both countries to help search for survivors. Baby born under rubble makes it out alive –

We meet Ahmat at one of the few functioning airports in the earthquake zone. He has travelled through the night from South Wales to reach his family home of Tut in the Adiyaman province of Turkey. His brother Ali has been killed after his home crumbled to the ground as a result of the earthquake.

Footage has emerged from Syria of the incredible moment men digging through rubble with their hands freed a tiny girl as her father tries to keep her calm. The father is heard saying to his young girl, Nour, “Dad is here, don’t be scared” as the search and rescue team furrow through large rocks to

More than 5,600 buildings in Turkey have been destroyed by yesterday’s powerful earthquake and aftershocks – as the long-running civil war in Syria complicates rescue efforts there. At least 4,310 people have died across both countries – and officials fear that the number of fatalities will rise further. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake happened before dawn

Frantic rescue efforts are continuing as hundreds of people are trapped under rubble following a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake early Monday morning that rocked south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria killing more than 2,400. The number of dead is expected to rise as rescue workers search the wreckage in cities and towns across the region. At