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...

Prosecutors have asked a Norwegian court to hand Marius Borg Høiby a prison term of seven years and seven months, saying he should be convicted on 39 of 40 charges brought against him.Høiby, 29, faces four counts of rape and a charge of serious assault among a wider slate of accusations.He denies the most serious allegations, saying sexual encounters with the four women were consensual. The...

Health officials are investigating an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Kent after two young people died and others remain seriously ill.The issue was raised during Prime Minister's Questions, where Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer expressed sympathy for the families and said public health teams are tracing close contacts, distributing antibiotics and preparing a targeted vaccination...

A striking triangular formation spotted in a vast Martian canyon has reignited questions about whether the Red Planet might once have hosted built structures.Filmmaker Brian Dodds recently circulated images of the feature in Candor Chasma, part of the enormous Valles Marineris system, and suggested it rivals the size of Egypt’s Great Pyramid.He cautions that the photos are not proof of past...

Jeremy Clarkson brushed off a jibe about Ed Miliband after a social media user asked if he would follow advice to serve warmer beer.The former Top Gear presenter replied tersely on X, suggesting Miliband lacked common sense.The comment came as Clarkson posted a lighthearted video intended to cut through growing anxieties over the conflict in the Middle East and talk of a possible wider...

Russian sources say President Vladimir Putin has increasingly been spending nights inside the Kremlin amid heightened concerns for his personal security.The claims come from the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU and the Rucriminal website, both of which cover security-service developments in Russia.Those outlets report that mobile internet access has been restricted across Moscow amid fears that...

Islanders are up in arms after Rome ordered hundreds of high-security mafia prisoners to be moved to Sardinian jails.The measure, part of a wider plan to concentrate 750 of Italy’s most dangerous offenders in a small number of facilities, has sparked widespread protests.Under the proposal, roughly a third of those inmates would be transferred to three prisons on the island, including one in the...

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned that Moscow does not appear ready to pursue genuine negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, describing the conflict as unpredictable and hazardous.She made the remarks in Strasbourg as EU lawmakers met to discuss the crisis.Von der Leyen argued that any meaningful settlement will require strong security arrangements to deter future...

President Emmanuel Macron will this week set out plans for a revamped national service intended to swell the ranks of France’s armed forces.The outline remains limited, but French media report the scheme would be voluntary, last about ten months and include pay of roughly €900–€1,000 per month for participants.Macron has been careful to stress that the program is not about sending young...

Belgium is preparing for widespread disruption this week as unions launch a three-day national strike aimed at protest­ing government austerity plans.Key public services and transport links are expected to be hit, with airports among the worst affected.The industrial action responds to a package of reforms from Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s centre-right coalition that aim to cut the budget...