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First preference vote shares in Ireland's election suggest that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are poised to continue their coalition, with Sinn Fein recording its first decline in support in 35 years. Since the foundation of the Irish state, at least one of Fianna Fail or Fine Gael has consistently been in power, and early results indicate this is unlikely to change. However, their combined vote share has declined for the fourth consecutive general election and is now at a record low. The main opposition has performed even worse. At the 2020 election, Sinn Fein benefited most from the drop in support for Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, topping the poll for the first time with 24.5% of first-preference votes. Four years on, despite being in opposition to a relatively unpopular go...

Donald Trump promised retribution on the campaign trail and his nomination of ultra-loyalist Kash Patel to FBI director is a sure-fire sign that he plans to deliver on it.That bodes ill for a huge cast of characters, across the US's top law enforcement agency and the Department of Justice, who have sought to investigate the president-elect on a litany of criminal charges, now dropped or on hold due to the impermissibility of prosecuting a sitting president. "Government gangsters" is how the 40-year-old Patel has termed them, the name of a book he's written on what he perceives to be Deep State corruption at the heart of the agency he'll be tasked with running and beyond.Read more:Trump hands out top jobs - here's who is in and who is out"We will go out and find the conspirators. Not just i...

Sir Keir Starmer faces another first-time challenge this week.Still just months into the job, the prime minister will be delivering his first speech to the annual Lord Mayor's Banquet in the City of London on Monday. It will be a rare chance to see the Labour leader in white tie and tailcoat in the glistening historical setting of Guildhall, surrounded by the rich and powerful. Unless of course, Sir Keir follows his Labour predecessor Gordon Brown and tries to dress down. Image: Gordon Brown speaking at the Lord Mayor's Banquet at Mansion House in London in 2007. Pic: Reuters Sir Keir is bound to dwell on the economy, the poor inheritance he believes he has received from the Conservatives, and his determination to stay the ...

Syria's president has said his country will "defend its stability and territorial integrity" after rebels reportedly took control of most of the country's second-largest city Aleppo.In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, Bashar al Assad said the regime would defeat the "terrorists and their supporters". In comments released by the state news agency, he added that Syria is able to defeat them no matter how much their attacks intensify.Read more:Rebels 'take control' of airport and seize most of Syria's second cityA setback for the regime, or the start of a major escalation?On Saturday thousands of insurgents took over most of Aleppo, controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province. They faced little to no resistance from government...