This Is Why

The UK is providing jets, drones and our only operational Type 45 destroyer – HMS Dragon – as part of a multinational mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Thousands of tankers and cargo ships remain stranded after the Strait was closed at the end of February due to the Iran war. Defence Secretary John Healey has stressed the deployment is a defensive measure to secure freedom of navigation – bu...

Keir Starmer is on the brink, as more and more Labour MPs and ministers call for his resignation – less than two years after he walked into Number 10. He remains defiant (for now), but whatever the fate of the prime minister, his predicament is one we've seen repeated over the past decade in a seemingly never-ending cycle of chopping and changing leaders. Since David Cameron's resignation in 2016...

Despite a disastrous set of local and national election results, the prime minister has vowed to carry on regardless. But dozens of Sir Keir Starmer's Labour MPs have now called on him to resign – or at least set out a timetable for when he will leave Downing Street. Surely choosing a replacement – or even triggering a leadership contest – should be straightforward? However, even though there are...

The annual Victory Day parade in Moscow will be a much smaller affair this year, without an intercontinental ballistic missile in sight. Why? Well, the threat of a Ukrainian drone attack is certainly one reason. But is there any credibility in reports of another threat - this time against Vladimir Putin himself? An anonymous European intelligence agency has claimed the Russian president is spooked...

The emergence of the United States as an energy superpower has reshaped the global economy. Good news for its allies, right? Well, not necessarily... In Texas, fracking has turned America from a major importer into the world's biggest energy producer, effectively creating "another Saudi Arabia" almost overnight. But as Europe looks to the US to plug the energy gap caused by wars in Ukraine and the...

Millions of people are preparing to head to the polls across Britain on Thursday. They'll be voting for thousands of local council seats in England - while people in Scotland and Wales will elect members of their respective devolved parliaments. But the results could have a huge impact on national politics. So, what happens to the prime minister if Labour loses as badly as expected? And does a goo...

It's the small Baltic state that's no stranger to being invaded - having been occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. But while many hope it will never happen again, there are fears in NATO and beyond that Estonia is next on Vladimir Putin's hitlist. So how is the country preparing for the threat from Russia? And could Estonia really be on the front line of a future war in Europe? Nial...

With conflicts continuing in Ukraine, Africa and the Middle East, the global economy being held to ransom and the old world order seemingly up-ended, is there any role left for the United Nations? Founded in the shadow of two world wars, the UN used to be considered the guardian of international law and order. But is it now little more than a toothless talking shop? Niall is joined by Sky News' di...

As The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens in cinemas, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Anna Wintour is back in the news – but who is she? The sequel to the 2006 film is widely perceived to be based on Ms Wintour's formidable and abrasive management style. However, the world of fashion and the magazines that follow it has changed a lot since then. So, has she maintained her grip and influence on the mult...

The war in Iran has led to fears of food shortages and fuelled forecourt price hikes – but is your summer holiday also in jeopardy? The price of jet fuel has soared higher than any other oil product, including petrol, since the Middle East conflict led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It means major airlines – including Qatar, Etihad and Lufthansa – have started cancelling flights...

The party drug ecstasy is usually associated with packed nightclubs and panicked politicians talking about the dangers involved in taking it. However, a former head of the UK’s armed forces believes the drug’s active ingredient, known as MDMA, could be key to treating veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. General Sir Nick Carter is now calling on the government to relax restricti...

Iranian intelligence services are suspected of actively recruiting in the UK, using AI and social networks to entice potential sign-ups. Sky News has uncovered evidence of how apparent Iranian networks are using the chat platform Telegram to target recruits. It follows an increase in attacks on Jewish communities across the UK – with authorities suggesting that some perpetrators may have been taki...

Why keeping the King safe is Trump's top priority King Charles's trip to the USA is still going ahead, despite a gunman attempting to storm a dinner attended by President Trump on Saturday night. It's the first state visit to the country by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in 2007. Charles is also due to emulate his mother by addressing Congress. Officials from both sides of the Atlantic...

Donald Trump is preparing to roll out the red carpet for the King’s all-American state visit next week – despite the fact the US president has been highly critical of the UK over its refusal to join the war in Iran. Trump’s public rebukes for Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s armed forces and even Prince Harry have put the so-called special relationship under greater strain than ever. So, can the King u...

Prince Harry has warned the world not to grow “numb” to Russia’s war in Ukraine during a surprise visit to Kyiv. The former British army captain also called on the “American leadership” to honour its international obligations, a thinly-veiled swipe at Donald Trump. The fighting rages on in Ukraine, while much of the world’s attention is focused on the war on Iran. The US has been a key backer of K...

AI giant Anthropic has chosen not to release its latest model, Mythos Preview, to the public. The product was pulled after testing showed its unprecedented strengths in hacking. Instead, Mythos has been made available to a small number of big tech companies including Amazon and Microsoft to help protect their software, rather than pick it apart. So, has the day arrived which many have feared – whe...

Sir Keir Starmer's relationship with the civil service has broken down following the sacking of Sir Olly Robbins. The former top civil servant at the Foreign Office told parliament there was a "dismissive approach" to security vetting from No 10, but the prime minister maintains it was Robbins who made "an error of judgement". So, what's at stake when the inner workings of government grind to a ha...

First it was Venezuela, then Iran. Is Cuba next on Donald Trump's hit list? The US navy has been anchored off the Caribbean coast since the start of the year, preventing supplies of oil and food from the outside world. As a consequence, the island has been brought to its knees - with electrical blackouts, food rationing and fears for the future. Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay joins Nia...

Top civil servant Olly Robbins has been sacked after his department did not inform the prime minister that Lord Mandelson had failed security vetting for the role of US ambassador. Opposition parties are calling on the prime minister to resign but Sir Keir Starmer is insisting he wasn’t told, in an "unforgivable" omission. He's due to speak to MPs in parliament on Monday, and address the accusatio...

A multi-billion-dollar Saudi-backed golf tour is reportedly close to collapse – so could this spell an end to the Gulf state’s interest in sport? The controversial LIV Golf Tour is just one strand of the Saudis’ sporting portfolio. Footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo plays there, while the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) also owns English Premier League team, Newcastle United. But the P...

Another night, another post on Truth Social from Donald Trump criticising NATO. As other leaders try to persuade him to stay in the alliance, plans are being prepared in case the US goes through with its threat to walk away. At the same time, the UK government is in a muddle on defence spending – with criticism from current and former military chiefs - but no decisions yet on how and when to boost...

A decade on, you might have thought Brexit was done and dusted – but our relationship with the European Union is still in flux. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is proposing a reset that could result in the UK signing up to EU rules without the need for a normal parliamentary vote, under what are known as Henry VIII powers. But in pushing for closer ties with the continent, is he risking a return t...

After 16 years in power, Hungary's Viktor Orban has been defeated by Peter Magyar, whose Tisza party has won a huge parliamentary majority. Magyar campaigned to break the country away from Russia's grip and re-establish closer ties to the European Union, in a setback for both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. But is this a genuine turning point and a strategic win for Ukraine's war efforts? Niall s...

Donald Trump's war in Iran has been polling badly among many of the groups that voted for him in 2024, and that matters as crucial midterm elections are just over six months away. These elections take place two years into the presidential cycle, with voters able to choose who runs Congress. Currently, the Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives, giving the president fr...

Kanye West is one of the 21st Century’s most talented musicians, but his controversial remarks are just as famous as his music – and his antisemitic comments have now got him banned from the UK. Wireless festival, which he was due to headline in London this summer, has been cancelled as a result. Since he burst onto the music scene in the early 2000s, Ye, as he is now known, has been breaking the...