WORLD

The government has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after MPs return to work in September – and only a few weeks before the Brexit deadline. Boris Johnson said a Queen’s Speech would take place after the suspension, on 14 October, to outline his “very exciting agenda”. But …

The Brazilian government has said it will reject an offer of aid from G7 countries to help tackle fires in the Amazon rainforest. French President Emmanuel Macron – who hosted a G7 summit that ended on Monday – said $22m (£18m) would be released. Brazilian officials gave no reason for …

International leaders gathering at the G7 summit are reportedly nearing an agreement to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday a deal to provide “technical and financial help” was close. Leaders from the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Canada continue …

Congolese authorities and health workers vaccinated more than 200,000 people against Ebola in August, the government said on Sunday, using a Merck vaccine they hope will help rein in the world’s second worst epidemic. Figures released by the government’s Ebola committee showed that 204,044 people had been inoculated since August …

A Hong Kong police officer fired a gunshot during protests on Sunday, the first time a live round has been used since demonstrations broke out in June. Images show several other officers also pointed guns at protesters who were chasing them with sticks. In another first, police deployed water cannon …

Brazil’s president has ordered the armed forces to fight record forest fires in the Amazon, amid international outrage over rising deforestation. President Jair Bolsonaro deployed soldiers in nature reserves, indigenous lands, and border areas beset by fires. The move is an apparent reversal from Mr Bolsonaro, who has been accused …

International concern over fires in the Amazon mounted on Thursday, with the UN and French President Emmanuel Macron calling for action as Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research reported nearly 2,500 new fires in the past 48 hours. Amid global concern about raging fires in the Amazon, Brazil’s government complained …

  Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she is “annoyed” at Donald Trump’s decision to cancel his visit after being told Greenland was not for sale. “Our preparations were well under way,” she said, adding she had been looking forward to meeting the US president. Ms Frederiksen reiterated that the …

The government is launching a review of high-speed rail link HS2 – with a “go or no-go” decision by the end of the year, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said. It will consider whether and how the project to connect London, the Midlands and northern England should proceed. Billions …

– Every 14th wedding celebrated in Germany between October 2017 and December 2018 was for same-sex couples, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Destatis data sent to Xinhua showed that a total of 449,466 marriages were contracted in Germany during this period, of which 16,766 were between …