Casual wear giant Uniqlo is facing calls for a consumer boycott in China after the CEO of the clothing company's owner said it does not source cotton from China's Xinjiang, which has faced allegations of forced labour in recent years.

Uniqlo is facing an online backlash in China after the boss of its parent company said the Japanese clothing retailer does not source cotton from Xinjiang. Fast Retailing's chief executive Tadashi Yanai said Uniqlo was "not using" cotton from the western Chinese province in a BBC interview broadcast this week.

China is a crucial market for Uniqlo not just for customers but also as a major manufacturing hub. Xinjiang cotton was once known as some of the best fabric in the world. But it has fallen out of favour after revelations that it is produced using forced labour by people from the Muslim Uyghur minority.

Sweden’s prime minister says his government has formally asked China to cooperate in explaining the recent rupture of data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in an area where a China-flagged vessel was sigh

Sweden has sent China a formal request to cooperate with its investigation into damage sustained by two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

Sweden has sent a formal request to China seeking cooperation to help clarify what happened when two undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.