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When Nasreen was just a young child, she saw her 12 -year-old sister forced into marriage, and her mother warned her she would be next.

At the age of around nine, with the help of a male cousin, she fled her small rural Nepalese village – she can’t say exactly how old she was because her birth was never recorded.

She arrived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal with nothing – not even a last name – and spent 15 hours a day toiling in a sweatshop, creating garments that would later be flown to department stores in wealthy countries.

At night, she would fall asleep on the piles of clothes and dream about where they would end up.

“I was looking for freedom and a better life and I ended up as forced child labour, in one of these tiny rooms in a textile factory with six others – it was loosely regulated, no windows and the doors locked,” she told Sky News.

Nasreen eventually escaped the cycle of slavery with the help of a mentor, and adopted the surname Sheikh – which in Arabic translates as ‘Chief of the Tribe’. She now works as the co-director of the Empowerment Collective, A US-based group that helps eradicate modern-day slavery by giving marginalised women the support and skills they need to ensure their self-sufficiency and dignity.

But the latest Global Slavery Index from International human rights organisation Walk Free found more than 50 million people around the world live in modern slavery, exacerbated by warfare, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

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And the problem is only getting worse – some 10 million more people are enslaved compared to five years ago.

While the UK was found to have taken the most action to combat modern slavery (followed by the Netherlands and Portugal) it remains complicit. Nearly two-thirds of all forced labour cases are connected to global supply chains.

The UK accounted for £21bn in at-risk imported products, including electronics, fish, garments, textiles and timber.

People living in higher-income countries “need to start asking questions about the clothes you are wearing, the phone you have in your pocket or the seaweed you ate last night,” Nasreen said.

“Those things contain slavery.”

How the UK imports slave-made goods

Nasreen said that while the number of enslaved people in parts of the Western world is low – statistics suggest 122,000 living in modern slavery in the UK – “it does not mean that slavery is not there” – but it is just being imported.

“Forced labour is found in low-income countries, but it is deeply connected to demand from higher income countries,” she said.

“These people are hidden, invisible. They don’t have a voice. They are so traumatised they can’t speak for themselves.”

Worldwide, over half of those in modern slavery, like Nasreen, are female. A quarter are children.

Women and girls are disproportionately at risk of forced marriage, accounting for 68% of all people forced to marry.

However, estimates remain conservative – UNICEF suggests that worldwide there are 650 million women and girls who were married before the age of 18.

Nasreen said her sister was “terrified” and crying when she was forced into marriage.

Mahendra was a former migrant worker in Saudi
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Mahendra was a former migrant worker in Saudi Arabia – and now campaigns for better rights for workers

“But everyone said, that’s how it goes, when they get married they cry,” she said.

“I asked my mother why are you forcing my sister and she said that it’s not that I’m doing it – this is how our culture is.

“This is how our society is – this is what happened to me, this is what happened to your sister, next it will happen to you.”

“Child labour and modern-day slavery are so normalised in our part of the world,” she added. “A lot of victims don’t see it as an issue because the trauma is normalised too.”

Migrant workers

The report from Walk Free found migrant workers are more than three times more likely to be in forced labour than non-migrant workers.

Mahendra Pandey, a former migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, said people like him “enter the country in good faith”.

He continued: “But once were are there, and when we can’t go back to our own country, we face discrimination, abuses and exploitations.”

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The global community is now even further from achieving the goals it agreed to make a priority and no government is on track to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 of ending modern slavery, forced labour, and human trafficking by 2030.

“Modern slavery permeates every aspect of our society. It is woven through our clothes, lights up our electronics, and seasons our food. At its core, modern slavery is a manifestation of extreme inequality,” said Founding Director of Walk Free, Grace Forrest.

“It is a mirror held to power, reflecting who in any given society has it and who does not. Nowhere is this paradox more present than in our global economy through transnational supply chains.”

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Why Ukraine’s European allies will be nervously watching VE Day events in Red Square

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Why Ukraine's European allies will be nervously watching VE Day events in Red Square

Donald Trump has a soft spot for military spectacles and autocrats.

He will be looking on with envy as Vladimir Putin parades both in Moscow today, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping flying in to join Victory Day events in Red Square.

European allies of Ukraine will be watching nervously, wary of anything that could upturn the delicate quest for peace.

President Trump‘s patience with peddling his much vaunted “peace deal” has been wearing thin and allies had feared Ukraine could be punished for it.

That would have been grotesquely unfair, of course. Ukraine has bent over backwards to accommodate Mr Trump’s one-sided diplomacy that has so far seemed to favour the aggressor in this obscene war.

Russian army soldiers marching during a dress rehearsal for Victory Day parade in St. Petersburg on 7 May. Pic: AP/Dmitri Lovetsky
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Pic: AP

True, the Trump proposal does not agree to Russian annexation of all the land already taken by force and stops short of ordering the complete demilitarisation of Ukraine, but otherwise the proposals are pretty much everything that Moscow has asked for.

The deal is being pushed by Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s golf partner turned chief negotiator, a man regarded by diplomats as out of his depth and lost in the rough when it comes to the arts of statecraft.

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Like his president, Mr Witkoff has a history of doing business with Russian oligarchs, an apparently starry-eyed view of the Russian leader and has called Ukraine a “false country”.

Moment of truth approaching

Mr Witkoff and Mr Trump have so far given Mr Putin the benefit of the doubt, but a moment of truth is approaching. While Ukraine has agreed to a longer ceasefire in principle, Mr Putin will not.

Ukraine’s European allies feared that Mr Trump was about to despair of progress, blame Ukraine and take US military support with him.

Then came the minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine. The breakthrough gave the US president something to show for his efforts and assuaged his desire for some kind of deal. He seems to have moved on for now, at least, and approved the first $50m of arms sales to Ukraine.

Russian Air Force fly over Red Square, leaving trails of smoke in the colors of the Russian national flag during rehearsal. Pic: AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko
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Members of the Russian Air Force fly over Red Square during the rehearsal. Pic: AP

But these remain a tense few days ahead with plenty at stake.

Mr Putin’s self-declared three-day ceasefire raises the spectre paradoxically of escalation if either side breaks it.

The Russian lull is seen here in Kyiv as little more than a ploy.

If the Russian leader was serious about giving peace a chance, they say, he would have signed up to the permanent ceasefire being proposed by the Trump team.

Besides, Russia broke the last truce in Easter as soon as it had begun and used it to carry out surveillance and reinforcement operations says Kyiv. Why risk another pointless pause that is exploited by the invaders?

Escalation possible

If Russia plays the same games this time and Ukraine retaliates, there could be a significant escalation. Likewise, with any Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow during Victory Day.

Any major flare-up will not be looked on favourably by the US president if it upstages his first trip abroad this presidency, a three-day tour of the Middle East.

For now, his attention is not so much on the Ukraine conflict and he is no longer issuing threats to walk away and stop supporting the Ukrainians.

Russian servicemen march towards the Red Square before Victory Day military parade general rehearsal on 7 May. Pic: AP/Pavel Bednyakov
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Russian servicemen march towards Red Square in the rehearsal. Pic: AP

Read more from Sky News:
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching ceasefire
Putin prepares to host dozens of world leaders for Victory Day parade

That will be a relief here in the Ukrainian capital. They would be unwise to do anything to reengage him, for now at least.

Their European allies, though, know American involvement in this war appears to be receding.

Can they fill the vacuum?

This week, they remember the sacrifices made to bring peace and security to their continent 80 years ago.

Can they find the political will and unity to do so again, even without America?

Astonishingly, given all we have been through, that is still an open question.

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India will respond ‘in exactly the same light’ if Pakistan retaliates, high commissioner tells Sky News

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India will respond 'in exactly the same light' if Pakistan retaliates, high commissioner tells Sky News

India will respond to any escalation from Pakistan “proportionally and in exactly the same light”, the country’s high commissioner has told Sky News.

Weeks after 26 tourists were shot dead by gunmen in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Islamabad-administered parts of the disputed region.

On Wednesday, India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has since vowed that India will “now have to pay the price” for their “blatant mistake,” and skirmishes have also been reported along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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Speaking to Sky’s The World with Yalda Hakim on Thursday, India’s high commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, said “the original escalation is Pakistan’s sponsored terror groups’ attack on civilians”.

India strikes ‘reasonable,’ says high commissioner

He then insisted India’s strikes in Pakistan and Kashmir were “precise, targeted, reasonable and moderate,” adding: “It was focused principally and solely on terrorist infrastructure.

“We made it abundantly clear that the object of this exercise was clearly to avoid military escalation.

“A fact that was actually acknowledged – in a left-handed way of course – by the Pakistani side in terms of their own statements, which said the airspace hadn’t been violated.”

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India awaits Pakistan’s response

Pakistan chose ‘to escalate the matter’

The high commissioner also said about claims Pakistan shot down Indian aircraft with Chinese-made fighter jets: “If it satisfies Pakistan’s ego to say that they’ve done something, they could have used that as an off-ramp to move on.

“Clearly they’ve chosen not to, and they’ve chosen to escalate the matter.”

A boy collects papers from the debris of a residential house damaged by a cross-border shelling in Gingal village near the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan, in Indian Kashmir's Baramulla district, May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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A boy collects papers from the debris of a damaged house in Gingal village. Pic: Reuters

And when asked about Pakistan’s threats of retaliation, Mr Doraiswami said: “We’re not looking for an escalation, but if Pakistan responds, as we have done, we will respond proportionally and in exactly the same light.”

He then referenced the border skirmishes, saying: “I do want to remind everybody: For the last 15 days, they’ve also opened artillery fire along the Line of Actual Control… That’s led to civilian casualties.”

Read more:
The story of India and Pakistan’s deadly conflict
How India and Pakistan’s militaries match up

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It comes after India said Pakistan attacked its military stations in the Kashmir region with drones and missiles on Thursday.

The country’s defence ministry said stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur were “targeted by Pakistani-origin” weapons, and added “the threats were swiftly neutralised”.

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The demands and challenges facing the new pope

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The demands and challenges facing the new pope

There is a long list of demands in the new pope’s in-tray, ranging from the position of women in the church to the ongoing fight against sexual abuse and restoring papal finances.

People both inside the Catholic Church and around the world will be watching how the new pontiff deals with them.

US Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the new pope on Thursday after just two days of conclave.

The 69-year-old, who becomes the first American pope, will take the name Leo XIV.

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‘Evil will not prevail, we are all in the hands of God’, the new American Pope told the crowd.

On Friday, Pope Leo will lead his first holy mass as pontiff after already paying a surprise visit to see staff at his former residence.

Here, Sky News Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins takes an in-depth look at the challenges facing the new pontiff.

Sexual abuse

Many Catholic insiders credit Pope Francis with going further than any of his predecessors to address sexual abuse.

He gathered bishops together for a conference on the issue in 2019 and that led to a change that allows cooperating with civil courts if needed during abuse cases.

But it didn’t go as far as forcing the disclosure of all information gathered in relation to child abuse.

Any abuse allegations must now be referred to church leaders, but reformers stopped short of decreeing that such cases should also be automatically referred to the police.

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Clerical abuse victim says church still has ‘so much to do’

While many abuse victims agree they saw progress under Pope Francis, who spent a lot of time listening to their accounts, they say reforms didn’t go far enough.

The next pope will be under pressure to take strong action on the issue.

Newly-elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Pic: Reuters
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Newly-elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Pic: Reuters

Women

Pope Francis also did more to promote women in the Vatican than any other pontiff.

Two years ago, he allowed women to vote in a significant meeting of bishops.

While he was clear he wanted women to have more opportunities, he resisted the idea that they needed to be part of the church hierarchy and didn’t change the rules on women being ordained.

A woman kneels at St. Peter's Square, on the first day of the conclave to elect the new pope, at the Vatican, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
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A woman kneels at St. Peter’s Square, on the first day of the conclave to elect the new pope. Pic: Reuters

His successor will need to decide if they push this agenda forward or rein it back in.

It’s a pressing concern as women do a huge amount of the work in schools and hospitals, but many are frustrated about being treated as second-class citizens. 10,000 nuns a year have left in the decade from 2012 to 2022, according to Vatican figures.

Inclusion

“Who am I to judge?” Pope Francis famously said when asked about a gay monsignor in 2013.

His supporters say he sought to make the church more open, including allowing blessings for same sex couples but while critics argue he didn’t go far enough, some conservatives were outraged.

A gay couple kisses each other as thousands of catholics and conservatives gather together against the legalization of gay marriage and to defend their interpretation of traditional family values in Monterrey City, Mexico September 10, 2016. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
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A gay couple kiss at a Catholic protest against the legalisation of gay marriage in Mexico. File pic: Reuters

African bishops collectively rejected blessings for same sex couples, saying “it would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities”.

How welcome LGBTQ+ people feel in the church will depend partly on decisions made by the pontiff.

Conversely, the Pope must also bring together disparate groups within the Catholic faith.

Many are demanding a leader who can unite the various factions and bring stability in an increasingly unstable world.

The global south

While the Catholic church is losing members in its traditional base of Europe, it’s growing rapidly in the global south.

The area has become the new centre of gravity for Catholicism with huge followings in countries like Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines.

Pope Francis tried to expand representation by appointing more cardinals from different areas of the world, and the new Pope will be expected to continue this.

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Behind the scenes at the conclave

Finance

The Vatican is facing a serious financial crisis.

The budget deficit has tripled since Pope Francis’s election and the pension fund has a shortfall of up to €2bn (£1.7bn).

These money worries, which were compounded by COVID-19 and long-standing bureaucratic challenges, represent a major concern for the next pope.

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