A winter storm bringing a mix of snow and ice swept across the north-eastern United States early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday travel and forcing emergency declarations in several states. Air travel was badly affected. By mid-morning, more than 14,400 domestic flights had been cancelled or delayed, according to the tracking service FlightAware. Most disruptions were centred on the New York area, including John F Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports.…

Italian authorities have arrested nine people linked to three charities on suspicion of raising millions of euros for the militant group Hamas. Anti-terrorism prosecutors said the suspects channelled about €7m (£6m) to organisations in Gaza, the Palestinian territories and Israel that were allegedly owned, controlled or linked to Hamas. The charities publicly claimed to be raising money for humanitarian aid for Palestinians. However, police said more than 71 per cent…

The Central African Republic will go to the polls on Sunday, with President Faustin-Archange Touadéra seeking a third term in office. About 2.3 million registered voters are expected to take part in what observers describe as a quadruple election, covering the presidency, parliament, and local and municipal councils. Seven candidates are contesting the presidency. They include former prime ministers Anicet Georges Dologuélé and Henri-Marie Dondra, who were cleared to run…

Poland plans to complete a new network of anti-drone defences along its eastern borders within two years, following repeated incursions by suspected Russian drones into its airspace earlier this year. The deputy defence minister, Cezary Tomczyk, said the first elements of the system could be operational within six months, with full completion expected within 24 months. Speaking in Warsaw, Tomczyk said the new defences would be integrated into an older…

The United States has restarted intelligence and surveillance flights over Nigeria, days after launching airstrikes against ISIS-linked militants in Sokoto State. A Sahel-based terrorism analyst, Brant Philip, disclosed that flight tracking records showed a US-linked aircraft operating over parts of Borno State on Saturday. The aircraft, identified as a Gulfstream V, is a long-range jet frequently adapted for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. According to Philip, the renewed operations…

Guinea goes to the polls on Sunday for its first presidential election since the 2021 military coup that brought Colonel Mamady Doumbouya to power. In September 2021, Doumbouya, then a little-known army colonel, appeared on national television to announce that soldiers had overthrown President Alpha Condé, ending more than a decade of civilian rule. “The will of the strongest has always supplanted the law,” he said at the time, claiming…

Somaliland already hosts a United Arab Emirates military base in Berbera, which includes a port and an airstrip.

A third of Kyiv has been left without heating after a major Russian drone and missile attack cut power supplies across the Ukrainian capital, exposing hundreds of thousands of residents to freezing conditions. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia launched nearly 500 drones and about 40 missiles overnight, including ballistic missiles. He said energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv were the primary targets. The bombardment lasted about 10 hours,…

A leading US transplant surgeon has said gene-edited pig kidneys could one day prove superior to human donor organs, as the first clinical trial involving living patients gets under way. Dr Robert Montgomery, director of the Transplant Institute at NYU Langone, said the first transplant in the trial had already been carried out, with another expected in January. Six patients are initially set to receive pig kidneys that have been…

An elderly woman has died after being seriously assaulted inside a flat in Devizes on Christmas Day, police have said. The woman, who was in her 80s, was found at a property on Keepers Road early on Christmas morning. Despite the efforts of police officers and paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Wiltshire Police confirmed that a 63-year-old woman, who is known to the victim, has been arrested…

A US judge has blocked American authorities from detaining or deporting a British anti-disinformation campaigner Imran Ahmed targeted by the Trump administration over efforts to counter hate speech and misinformation. Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), is one of five European nationals accused by US officials of pressuring technology companies to censor American viewpoints. On Thursday, Ahmed filed a legal complaint against senior Trump allies,…

Japan’s cabinet has approved a record defence budget amid rising tensions with China, as Beijing accused Tokyo this week of “fuelling a space arms race”. The draft budget for the next financial year, approved on Friday, exceeds ¥9tn (£46bn), marking a 9.4% increase on the current year’s spending, which ends in April. It represents the fourth year of Japan’s five-year plan to double defence spending to 2% of gross domestic…