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...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will tell MPs how the UK plans to respond if the war in the Middle East pushes energy bills higher.Her Commons statement will cover three main areas: a short assessment of the economic fallout, measures to bolster energy security, and the principles that would guide any future household support.On energy security, Reeves will recommit the government to building more...

Ministers are considering slowing HS2 trains as a way to reduce costs after the high-speed rail project ran into delays and ballooning budgets.The transport department has asked the company building the London-to-Birmingham section to study whether trains could initially operate at a lower top speed.A formal update on the programme’s timetable and cost is now expected only after the May...

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...

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...

Another surge in energy prices has jolted Europe, reviving memories of the 2022 shock that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.This time the trigger is instability in the Middle East, which has disrupted key shipping routes and sent markets into a fresh tailspin.The EU had vowed to end its heavy dependence on Russian fuels after 2022 and moved quickly: Russia now supplies almost none of the...

Unconfirmed US reports say Iran launched two ballistic missiles toward the US-UK base on Diego Garcia, but neither weapon hit its target.One missile reportedly malfunctioned mid-flight and the other was intercepted by a US naval vessel, though the exact timing of the launches remains unclear.The BBC says the accounts are credible, and Britain’s Ministry of Defence accused Iran of escalating...

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides has called for a frank review of the UK’s two sovereign military bases on the island, saying their presence is a legacy of colonial rule and needs to be discussed once tensions in the Middle East ease.The bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia were established under the 1960 treaty that granted Cyprus independence, with Britain retaining sovereignty over roughly...

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 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...