A petition calling on the Treasury to give pensioners a higher tax-free earnings limit has forced a Commons debate after drawing more than 116,000 signatures.Campaigners want pensioners to benefit from a £25,140 threshold before income tax applies — double the current personal allowance of £12,570.The petition secured enough support to trigger a parliamentary discussion, but a date for the...

A major industry group is warning the UK it must boost domestic oil and gas production to avoid growing dependence on imported fuel as global tensions push prices higher.Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) says the government should rethink its ban on new North Sea exploration licences, arguing that Britain risks exposure to supply shocks if more home-grown output is not allowed.Energy markets have...

Two years after Dutch schools removed smartphones from the school day, teachers and education officials are reporting calmer corridors and sharper attention in class.Devices including phones, smartwatches and tablets are now kept out of classrooms, hallways and cafeterias across the country as part of a nationwide agreement reached with schools, parents and teachers rather than through new...

Denmark's Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in Tuesday's election but failed to secure the parliamentary majority needed to govern alone.Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's party took 21.9% of the vote and won 38 seats — its weakest result in more than a century.The left-leaning “red bloc” has a narrow lead with 84 seats, while the centre-right “blue bloc” holds 77. Neither...

Denmark went to the polls as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pursues a third consecutive term after calling an early election amid a surge in popularity following the diplomatic row over Greenland.Frederiksen’s Social Democrats remain the single largest party in opinion polls, but support has slipped since their strong 2022 result.Even with the lead, the party appears unlikely to secure the 90...

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...

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...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer declined to confirm whether he personally discussed Lord Peter Mandelson's ties to Jeffrey Epstein before naming him UK ambassador to the United States.During Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pressed Mr Starmer repeatedly on whether he had phoned or met Lord Mandelson to raise concerns about the convicted sex offender prior to the...

Italy’s parliament has approved a new law that treats the gender-motivated killing of women as a separate offence punishable by life imprisonment.The vote, held on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, passed unanimously with all 237 deputies backing the measure.The bill was proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and received support from both the government...

Rachel Reeves has appealed for cohesion within Labour as she gets ready to present a Budget she says is crucial to the party's electoral chances.Speaking to Labour's Parliamentary Party on Monday evening, the chancellor urged MPs to back the package in full if they want to take power at the next election.The Budget, due on Wednesday after weeks of speculation, is expected to include measures to...