World

Poland is to withdraw from a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. The country’s justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro said the treaty “contains elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful”. Mr Ziobro said on Saturday that his ministry would ask the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to begin the withdrawal

Tens of thousands of people in the far eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk have taken part in a protest march over the arrest of a popular regional governor on murder charges. Following his detention earlier in July, Sergei Furgal was flown 3,800 miles to Moscow where he has been in jail for two months. His

The air is highly charged in Portland even before nightfall. Almost everyone walking in the city centre streets is wearing a helmet. We pass one corner and someone is putting shin pads on. Fresh graffiti is going up on another corner. This doesn’t feel like a protest limping into its 55th night. Image: Federal officers

China has ordered the US to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu as tensions continue to mount between the two countries. The latest tit-for-tat escalation comes days after Washington told Beijing to cease its operations at the Chinese consulate in Houston after the US accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and

France has declared a significant rise in coronavirus cases – as researchers have said traces of COVID-19 are once again being found in Paris’s sewage system. The country’s health ministry reported 1,062 cases on Thursday – nearly double the 584 seen on Tuesday. It marked the second day in a row that the country had

A 93-year-old former guard at a Nazi concentration camp has been found guilty for his role in the murders of more than 5,000 prisoners during the Second World War. Bruno Dey, who had been an SS guard in the Stutthof concentration camp in German-occupied Poland during the final months of the conflict, was given a

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