The world is watching as Russian President Vladimir Putin amasses troops on the border with Ukraine.

Researchers have investigated the rumours circulating online and in Russian news media that could be the groundwork for an invasion of Ukraine.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

The claim was that in recent days tens of thousands of women, children and elderly residents in breakaway regions had fled an impending Ukraine “genocide”. The reality appears altogether different.

Exhausted, confused, isolated and depressed Americans are not buying the Democratic line that things are better than they look.

Like so many autocrats, over time the Russian leader has surrounded himself with cronies, yes-men and like-minded mini-mes.

Boris Johnson’s plan would make Britain the first major European country to allow people who know they are infected with COVID-19 to freely use shops, public transport and go to work.

In new signs that a war could start within days, Germany and Austria have told their citizens to leave Ukraine, while the US warns Russia is “poised to strike”.

One of Epstein’s main accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said the death of well-known model scout Jean-Luc Brunel was “devastating”.

The Beijing Winter Games have survived a lack of snow, a pandemic, and very strict rules, to arrive at substantial wins for the Chinese Communist Party.

The US says Moscow has 190,000 troops ready. Biden says the Russian President has made up his mind. Scott Morrison says Russia’s bullying “is not something we can allow to stand.”

Sport glory and the threat of invasion of Ukraine seem worlds apart but are pieces of a Russian puzzle coming together while everyone watches on.

In Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah said the flight was a “reconnaissance mission”.

Quarantine facilities are at capacity and hospital beds are more than 95 per cent full, with elderly patients left on beds outside in chilly weather.

In Greece’s rural heartland, tractors have become a symbol of anxiety. Now they’ve started forming truck-style protest convoys.

It is an unusual gambit, in part because US President Joe Biden has repeatedly made clear he has no intention of sending US troops to defend Ukraine.

A new exhibition sheds light on a mysterious circle that England’s prehistoric ancestors constructed in a salt marsh.

Winds ripped off the roof of London’s O2 Arena, while plane-spotters under the Heathrow flightpath filmed live as plane after plane defied the weather.

Families of sailors lost on the famous World War II cruiser are resisting a proposal to open the wreck off the coast of Indonesia to marine tourism and diving.

The plot to oust Patricia Scotland as Secretary-General appears to have come undone after her Kenyan rival Monica Juma withdrew from the race.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns the UN Security Council that a Russian false flag operation could include a fake or real assault using chemical weapons.

Until last year, South Korea had never had reached 8000 new cases a day. But with Omicron, the daily caseload soared to 109,831 on Friday.

Authorities took into custody 1266 migrants “from different continents that were transiting irregularly”. More than 200 were minors travelling alone.

Australia has been slammed for backing a human rights watchdog in Phnom Penh that critics say will be used by as a propaganda tool by the Cambodia strongman.

As one prince hopes his legal woes are over, another - the heir to the throne - must deal with a police investigation into his own “cash for honours” scandal.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Anti-racism classes in which white people must accept their inherent prejudice are just one way in which this American academic is trying to change behaviour.

Judge rules New York attorney general had “the clear right” to question the Trumps after having uncovered “copious evidence of possible financial fraud”.

Britain is struggling to contain asylum seeker boats crossing the English Channel from France.

What began as an enterprising teenager’s lockdown venture has awakened a family of five to how online fame can fuel real-world violence.

The creation of the FBI’s “virtual asset exploitation” unit comes after the Justice Department’s largest-ever financial seizure earlier this month.

It was not immediately clear how serious the incidents over the last 24 hours were. The US previously warned of a possible false-flag attack by Russia.

The shift is being helped by relatively high vaccination rates and milder symptoms caused by the Omicron variant, even if infection rates remain near peak levels in some countries.

There’s scant evidence of the Imperial City’s regal charms after it slammed by a deluge. Authorities said the number of dead could rise as searchers pick through the wreckage.

London police have launched an investigation into allegations linking one of Prince Charles’ charities to a “cash for honours” deal.

There are few historic parallels from which to draw inferences about the options for the Duke of York as he tries to salvage whatever dignity he has left.

Bannon and Guo Wengui joined forces to create the ‘New Federal State of China’ to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party in 2020.

Seven of the women are launching a lawsuit against Qatari authorities and say, through their lawyer, that they have been told their claims have no legal merit.

A senior US administration official said the West detected that Russia had increased its force near Ukraine by 7000 troops.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Every time police showed up at her biological father’s house, who had lost custody of the girl, he denied knowing where she was.

A single job advert in Saudi Arabia has highlighted the scale of demand from women to enter the workforce in the conservative kingdom.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Brazil’s Bolsonaro is headed for Moscow in the latest of a flurry of calls and visits that sheds light on the Russian President’s ambitions.

Joe Biden expressed scepticism for Russia’s talk of a troop pullback near Ukraine’s border and warned of blowback for any Western sanctions on Russia.

She loves a Pomeranian that wears blue slippers and once liked ballet but found it put her “to sleep”. Now the world’s best figure skater is in a tricky spot.

Amid feverish diplomacy, a couple of issues keep cropping up, including NATO and a gas pipeline. Why?

A woman of mixed race appears to be third person ever to be cured of HIV - and the first to escape the punishing side effects of the treatment.

“Today is a day of accountability for an industry that has thus far enjoyed operating with immunity and impunity”, said a six-year-old victim’s mother.

The law also protects the right to express opinion, religious belief or principle which is not intended to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation.