World

Nicolas Sarkozy has become the first French ex-president to go to jail, as he starts a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars. Sarkozy, who was president …

Sanae Takaichi has been elected Japan’s prime minister by parliament, making her the first woman to hold the office. The 64-year-old won a clear majority on Tuesday – 237 votes in the powerful Lower House and another 125 in the Upper House – as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A staunch conservative and admirer of the late …

A president steeped in constitutional lore might have been offended by claims he’s acting as a king. But Donald Trump and his entourage responded with mockery to weekend “No Kings” protests by millions of Americans — embracing the narrative in a way that explains his growing hubris and belief that he has unchecked power. The president and Vice President JD Vance this …

The Louvre museum in Paris announced it would remain closed Monday as investigations continue into Sunday’s extraordinary theft of historic jewelry – and experts say the prospects of recovering the treasures are slim. In a post on X, the museum said it regretted Monday’s closure, as France begins to digest the implications of the brazen heist in which robbers made off with artefacts from the French …

Huge crowds took part in “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump’s policies in cities across the US on Saturday, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles. Thousands packed New York City’s iconic Times Square and streets all around, with people holding signs with slogans like “Democracy not Monarchy” and “The Constitution is not optional”. The Donald …

President Donald Trump announced Sunday he would end all US payments and subsidies to Colombia, marking a dramatic escalation in his back-and-forth with the country’s president, Gustavo Petro. President Donald Trump and President of Colombia Gustavo Petro Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Diego Cuevas/Getty ImagesWest Palm Beach, Florida —  Trump said in a post to social media that Petro “does nothing to stop” the production of …

Israel says it has “begun renewed enforcement” of the ceasefire, hours after carrying out a “wave of strikes” on Gaza, and both sides accused each other of breaching the deal The IDF earlier said Hamas “fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF troops” near Rafah, killing two – but the group says it is unaware of any clashes there Hamas has said Israel …

Dozens of troops and civilians were killed in a fresh round of border skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials on both sides of the frontier said, as clashes entered their second week. Violence between the two neighbours has flared since explosions in Afghanistan last week, including two in the capital Kabul, that were blamed on Pakistan. Armed Taliban …

•Promises renewed focus on tracing such flows to plug fiscal leakages•Upgrades Nigeria’s 2025 economic growth forecast to 3.9%•Cites stronger domestic fundamentals•Calls for credible fiscal, monetary policies•Downgrades global economic growth forecast to 2.8% The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has decried Illicit Financial Flows, IFFs out of Nigeria, noting that it was contributing to the worsening revenue problem of the country. The …

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC. Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India. He collapsed during a morning walk and was taken to Devamatha Hospital, which said he had suffered a cardiac arrest. It said he did not respond to resuscitation …