France's Socialist incumbents held onto the country's four biggest cities — Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille — in local elections that offered a boost to established parties ahead of next year's presidential contest.The results suggested a retreat from political extremes in many urban centres, even as the far left and far right made selective advances in other areas.Parties across the...

The Irish government has announced a temporary cut to fuel excise duties to ease pressure from a recent spike in pump prices linked to conflict in the Middle East.From midnight on Wednesday until the end of May, excise on diesel will be lowered by 20 cent per litre and petrol by 15 cent per litre.Cabinet will consider the measures on Tuesday after they were agreed at a leaders' meeting earlier...

Lionel Jospin, a leading figure of France's Socialist movement who served as prime minister during the late 1990s, has died at the age of 88.He was widely known for reshaping parts of French social policy and for his dramatic exit from politics after the 2002 presidential election.Jospin led a left-wing government in cohabitation with President Jacques Chirac from 1997 to 2002. He had been a...

CCTV footage has captured people approaching ambulances shortly before several vehicles serving a Jewish community were set alight in north London.The Metropolitan Police say the incident, which damaged four Hatzola ambulances, is being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.Fire crews were called to Highfield Road in Golders Green at about 01:40 GMT after reports of the blaze. The London...

The UN's weather agency says Earth is accumulating heat faster than ever recorded, creating an unprecedented imbalance that is already reshaping the climate.Experts point to rising greenhouse gas levels as the main driver of this extra trapped energy, which last year pushed ocean and ice measurements to new extremes.The World Meteorological Organization reports that the past 11 years are the...

Firefighters and police are at the scene of a suspected arson attack in Golders Green, north London.The London Fire Brigade says crews are tackling the incident, with further information expected as the situation develops.A local resident reported hearing a loud blast shortly after 01:30 GMT and said several ambulances were seen burning nearby, waking people in the neighbourhood. Residents...

France’s Socialist-led administrations kept control of the country’s four biggest cities — Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille — in local elections that offered a boost to established parties ahead of next year’s presidential vote.The night also saw gains for both the far left and far right, with notable wins for a Le Pen ally in Nice and for France Unbowed (LFI) in Roubaix, underscoring a...

Danish authorities reportedly prepared to disable key Greenland airstrips to stop a potential US seizure of the Arctic territory, the Danish broadcaster DR has reported.DR says its account is based on a dozen sources inside Denmark's government and military, plus officials in France and Germany, and the Financial Times later said two European diplomats corroborated parts of the story.According to...

France heads to second-round municipal votes on Sunday in contests seen as an early barometer for the 2027 presidential campaign.Attention is focused on major cities where control could shift political momentum — notably Paris and Nice.In the capital, Socialists are scrambling to hang on after a quarter-century of centre-left leadership. Rachida Dati, the right-wing challenger, has closed the...

The UK has expanded permission for US forces to operate from British bases to strike Iranian missile sites linked to attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.Ministers said the change is intended to protect merchant shipping in the vital waterway and is being carried out under the principle of collective self-defence.Downing Street stressed Britain will not take a direct combat role in any US...