INTERNATIONAL

Sweden has recalled its ambassador to China over her involvement in a bizarre meeting involving the daughter of a detained Swedish-Chinese bookseller. The ambassador, Anna Lindstedt, left Beijing on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Swedish foreign ministry said. The incident began with an account of a meeting written by Angela Gui, whose father Gui Minhai, 54, was allegedly abducted by ...

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has pulled the plug on its struggling A380 superjumbo, which entered service just 12 years ago. Airbus said last deliveries of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, which cost about $25bn (£19.4bn) to develop, would be made in 2021. The decision comes after Emirates, the largest A380 customer, cut its order. The A380 faced fierce competition from ...

One of three schoolgirls who left east London in 2015 to join the Islamic State group says she has no regrets, but wants to return to the UK. In an interview with the Times, Shamima Begum, now 19, talked about seeing “beheaded heads” in bins – but said that it “did not faze her”. Speaking from a refugee camp in ...

All flights in and out of Belgium have been cancelled for a day due to strike action, the country’s air traffic control has announced. The period of cancellation will run for 24 hours, from 22:00 (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday. A national strike has been called by three major trade union federations. Air traffic agency Skeyes said that there was “no ...

Australian PM Scott Morrison says he will re-open a controversial detention centre on Christmas Island, after a historic defeat in parliament. On Tuesday, non-government MPs secured enough votes to pass a bill making it easier for sick refugees held offshore to be treated in the country. Mr Morrison said the law would weaken the nation’s tough border policies and embolden ...

A number of people have been killed and injured in a stampede at a campaign rally for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, local officials say. The incident happened at a stadium in the southern city of Port Harcourt when the crowd surged towards a gate after President Buhari’s speech. Nigeria holds an election on Saturday in which Mr Buhari is running ...

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has told tens of thousands of his supporters that humanitarian aid will be brought in, despite opposition from President Nicolás Maduro. He also told a rally in Caracas that “the usurper [Maduro] has to leave”. Mr Maduro earlier told the BBC he would not allow aid in as it was a way for the US ...

Politicians and policymakers have failed to grasp the gravity of the environmental crisis facing the Earth, a report claims. The think-tank IPPR says human impacts have reached a critical stage and threaten to destabilise society and the global economy. Scientists warn of a potentially deadly combination of factors. These include climate change, mass loss of species, topsoil erosion, forest felling ...

Theresa May has promised MPs a final, decisive vote on her Brexit deal with the EU – but not until she has secured changes to the Irish backstop clause. Speaking in the Commons, the PM said she had a “mandate” to seek changes to the backstop as MPs had voted for it. “We now need some time to complete that ...

The widow of a Nigerian activist suing oil giant Shell over the execution of her husband says his death left her “traumatised” and “poverty-stricken”. Esther Kiobel is testifying in court in The Hague, demanding compensation from the Netherlands-based firm. She is among four women who accuse Shell of being complicit in the hanging of their husbands by Nigeria’s military in ...