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...

A recent Oscar-winning documentary has exposed how Russia’s wartime messaging has seeped into primary schools, placing children at the center of an expanding state-led patriotic program.Footage from a provincial town in the Urals, filmed by school events organiser Pavel Talankin, shows pupils taking part in flag ceremonies, scripted lessons and other activities that promote a...

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...

A bitter dispute over repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline has blocked a vital €90bn EU loan to Kyiv.The row pits Hungary and Slovakia against Ukraine after a Russian strike damaged the Brody pumping station on 27 January and stopped all flows.Satellite images and local reporting show a giant storage tank at Brody — one of Ukraine’s largest — burned for days after the attack. Engineers...

A final report by the European grid body says a chain of technical problems — not a single fault — triggered the massive power outage that paralysed Spain and Portugal in April 2025.On 28 April, shortly after midday, large parts of the Iberian peninsula lost electricity.The disruption knocked out phone and internet services, halted public transport and closed schools and businesses; some...

Hungary's decision to block a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine has provoked sharp criticism from fellow European leaders and exposed deep divisions ahead of next month's Hungarian elections.After a tense summit in Brussels, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refused to lift his veto, posting on X: "No oil = no money." He linked his move to a dispute over a damaged section of the Druzhba pipeline that...

The family of an 18-year-old who died after a meningitis infection in Kent have described the loss as devastating and urged faster action to protect other young people.Juliette Kenny fell ill with symptoms including vomiting and facial discolouration and died the day after they appeared, her father said.She is one of two confirmed fatalities linked to the current outbreak. Health officials now...

Health authorities have widened a meningitis B (MenB) vaccination campaign after an outbreak linked to a Canterbury nightclub, prompting long lines of university students seeking protection.The UK Health Security Agency now says anyone who visited Club Chemistry between 5 and 15 March is eligible for a jab.The offer has also been extended to sixth form pupils in affected areas and to people who...

Crown Princess Mette-Marit has agreed to speak publicly about her contacts with the late Jeffrey Epstein in an interview due to air on NRK on Friday.The conversation, filmed at the couple’s Skaugum residence alongside Crown Prince Haakon, comes as her son’s high-profile trial reaches its conclusion.Marius Borg Høiby’s seven-week trial in Oslo District Court began in February and has drawn...

The flare-up around Iran is already sending sharp ripples through the UK economy, touching everything from farmers' fuel supplies to homebuyers' mortgage deals.Even though Britain does not import Iranian gas, recent missile strikes have driven up global energy prices fast enough to affect domestic markets.Farmers are rationing red diesel and some mortgage offers have been withdrawn as lenders...