World

Police in Australia asked a woman to remove tampon during a strip search, an official report has found. The request was made during one of a number of personal body searches that were documented in a report into misconduct by the New South Wales Police Force. The report by the New South Wales (NSW) Law

Portuguese police have reopened their investigation into the unsolved rape of an Irish woman after 16 years. Hazel Behan, 37, believes her attacker may have been drifter Christian B, the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He was convicted of a similar rape a year after Ms Behan was attacked and two years

This is staggering – the UK doesn’t know if Russia interfered in the Brexit vote because it never sought to ask! For years ministers have consistently batted off questions about whether Vladimir Putin‘s regime attempted to meddle in the EU referendum, saying that there was no evidence of “successful interference”. We now know why. They

China has been accused of oppressing and breaching the human rights of the Uighur people in its western Xinjiang province. There have been widespread reports of Uighur people being held against their will in “re-education” centres, undergoing forced contraception and being subjected to a range of other restrictions. China says the claims are “baseless” and

The UK has suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong following the imposition of controversial new security laws on the territory by China. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the “necessary and proportionate” measure in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday. The UK will also extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo it

Marathon talks among EU leaders to agree an unprecedented £1.68tn budget and coronavirus recovery fund have been extended into a third day. The bitter negotiations have underscored the deep divides within the 27-nation bloc, with the traditional Franco-German alliance struggling to get its way. But European Council President Charles Michel urged the leaders to make

Devastating floods in India’s northeastern state of Assam have killed 107 people and displaced more than four million. Around 28 of the state’s 33 districts have been affected, making it one of the worst floods in recent times. About 50,000 people have been rendered homeless and relocated to 649 relief camps set up by the

A man has been arrested in connection with a fire at Nantes cathedral that destroyed the grand organ and blew out stained glass windows. The 39-year-old is a Rwandan refugee who worked at the 15th-Century gothic structure as a volunteer and was in charge of locking up on Friday night, TV channel LCI said. Prosecutor

China’s longest river has risen more than 50ft (15m) above flood level, as the country struggles with some of the most severe flooding in years. At least 14 people have died and tens of thousands of others evacuated as central and southern parts of China are ravaged by floods caused by torrential rain. Communities along

A large blaze inside one of France’s historic cathedrals is suspected to be arson, officials said. The fire at Nantes’ 15th-Century gothic cathedral shattered stained glass windows and sent black smoke spewing from between its towers. Around a hundred firefighters battled the blaze, with huge flames licking the inside of the cathedral’s facade. The fire

Scientists have identified six distinct types of COVID-19 – each with a specific collection of symptoms – in a breakthrough that could help doctors predict which patients are most at risk. The different forms of the disease are believed to determine its severity among those infected – and whether they are likely to need respiratory

The owner of two hospitals in Bangladesh that issued thousands of fake coronavirus test results has been arrested as he attempted to flee the country, officials have said. Mohammed Shahed, a member of the country’s governing party who regularly appeared on TV talk shows, was wearing a burka when he was arrested on Wednesday by

There are two hacking operations associated with Russian intelligence.   They go by a variety of names but let’s go with the terminology the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is using. APT28 – where APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat – is believed to be the hacking arm of the GRU or Russian military

Footage from body cameras worn by two police officers showing a panicked and scared George Floyd pleading with officers minutes before his death has emerged. In the recordings from Minneapolis officers Thomas Lane and J Kueng, Mr Floyd can be heard telling them “I’m not a bad guy” as they try to wrestle him into

Funerals in South Africa are grand events that require time and money to organise – plenty of which could be seen as we pulled up to the Shweme Zilamkhonto funeral parlour in Port Elizabeth. On the forecourt, workmen were cutting and polishing tombstones, while a fleet of sporty-looking funeral wagons were loaded up with bodies

The global population is likely to shrink after the middle of this century, triggering shifts in economic power, a new report suggests. There will be around 9.7 billion people on the planet by 2064, but that number will decrease to 8.8 billion by the year 2100, according to a new report in medical journal The