INTERNATIONAL

Pakistan’s military has accused India’s air force of violating its airspace, and says it scrambled jets in response. Military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted: “Indian Air Force violated Line of Control. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircrafts gone back. Details to follow.” He added that Indian aircraft “released [a] payload in haste… near Balakot”. There has been no ...

Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty of sexual offences in Australia, making him the highest-ranking Catholic figure to receive such a conviction. Pell abused two choir boys in the rooms of a Melbourne cathedral in 1996, a jury found. He had pleaded not guilty. The verdict was handed down in December, but it could not be reported until now ...

A passenger who took a crew member hostage and threatened to storm the cockpit on a flight from Dhaka in Bangladesh was carrying a toy gun. The 25-year-old man was shot dead by police after an emergency landing. All 148 passengers and crew on board Birman Airlines flight BG147 disembarked safely after the landing, in the city of Chittagong. Officials ...

Theresa May says she remains “focused” on leaving the EU on 29 March, despite calls from her own party for a delay. The PM said she had felt a “real determination” from EU leaders in recent days to find a “smooth and orderly way [to leave] with a deal”. But Dutch PM Mark Rutte warned her the UK was “sleepwalking ...

Theresa May is facing growing calls to say she would delay Brexit rather than leave the EU if no deal is in place by the end of March. A new plan from some Tory MPs suggests ministers postpone Brexit until 23 May “to conclude negotiations”. It is being suggested as an alternative to cross-party proposals which would see MPs take ...

Venezuelan soldiers who defected into Colombia on Saturday say they fear for the safety of their families under President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Speaking exclusively to the BBC’s Orla Guerin, one defector aged 23 says he is worried forces loyal to the president may “lash out against my family”. “But I think it was the best decision I could have made,” ...

Pope Francis has promised concrete action to tackle child sex abuse at the end of a Roman Catholic Church summit on paedophilia. Clergy guilty of abuse were “tools of Satan”, the Pope said, pledging to face every case with “utmost seriousness”. Child sex abuse, he said, reminded him of the ancient religious practice of child sacrifice in pagan rites. Bishops ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has departed for Hanoi by train for talks with US President Donald Trump. He arrived at the Chinese border city of Dandong after 21:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday. The much anticipated second US-North Korea summit is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in the Vietnamese capital. It follows a historic first round of talks ...

Deadly clashes broke out in Venezuelan border towns on Saturday, as President Nicolás Maduro blocked humanitarian aid from crossing from Colombia and Brazil. Troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who attempted to collect and transport the supplies. A number of people were also shot by live ammunition, human rights groups say. At least two people were killed. ...

Nigerians are finally going to the polls for the country’s general election following a last-minute postponement of the vote a week ago. The main challenger to President Muhammadu Buhari, 76, is the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, 72. Whoever wins will have to address power shortages, corruption, security threats, and a sluggish economy. Voting began at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) and ...