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Gerard Hutch, the alleged head of a major criminal gang in Dublin, has failed to win a seat in Ireland's general election.Mr Hutch, known as The Monk, came fifth in the four-seat Dublin Central constituency, where Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald topped the poll. Mr Hutch, 61, is on bail for an alleged money laundering charge in Lanzarote. Officials there did not immediately respond to Sky News' questions about the next stages in his case.Mr Hutch's campaign also did not accept Sky News' request to interview him before the counting started.There were scenes of pandemonium when he appeared at the Dublin count centre at the end of his unsuccessful bid to be elected to the Irish parliament. It had been thought he wouldn't attend the count centre when it had become clear he had failed in his...

A British man has died after being found at the bottom of a lift shaft while on holiday in Turkey.Tyler Kerry, 20, a labourer from Basildon in Essex, was found on Friday at the hotel he was staying at in Antalya. His uncle, Alex Price, said his nephew was discovered at 7am local time (4am UK time)."I got a phone call from my sister and she just said that Tyler had been found in the lift shaft at the hotel," Mr Price said."An ambulance team were attending to him but unfortunately they weren't able to resuscitate him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene." Mr Price said the family was "in the dark about what's happened" but were being supported by a consular official and a representative from holiday company TUI.He said Mr Kerry was a "lovely young man" and that he and his girlfriend Moll...

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...

Donald Trump is set to make another controversial addition to his top team after saying he wants convicted tax evader Charles Kushner to serve as ambassador to France.The president-elect made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Mr Kushner "a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker". The real estate developer is the father of Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.Read more:Trump hands out top jobs - here's who is in and who is outMr Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. Jared Kushner is a former senior Trump adviser who is married to Mr Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka. The elder Mr Kushner was pardoned by Mr Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.Prosecutors all...

Syrian rebels reportedly control most of Aleppo following their surprise offensive which left regime forces reeling.Thousands of opposition fighters in armoured vehicles have been deployed to landmarks in the country's second-largest city, including the old citadel, said residents. It comes a day after the rebels entered Aleppo where they reportedly faced little resistance from pro-government troops.The insurgents, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al Sham and including Turkey-backed fighters, also claim to be in control of all of Idlib province after launching their offensive on Wednesday. Image: Rebels in front of the Aleppo citadel after seizing control of large parts of the city. Pic: AP Russian and Syrian...

The crowds came, weeping in the dark, to a bombsite and a shrine. The crater was huge, with twisted rods of steel and mounds of earth and rubble on its side. This is where Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah was killed, in a massive Israeli airstrike, on 27 September. Those dirt mounds were covered in small candles, the surrounding buildings were lit in red and, at the bottom of the pit, a white cube beamed spotlights straight up into the sky,Hezbollah called Nasrallah their "soul and heart". Western governments called him a terrorist and celebrated his death.The crowds here, in their thousands, chanted his name, again and again. Read more:Hezbollah flags still fly in Lebanon as fragile peace deal continues to holdFatima al Atrash, a 65-year-old woman who comes from the south ...

Ireland's Green Party, one of the three previous governing parties, may lose a significant number of seats - as attention turns to forming a new coalition after polling day on Friday.Counting is still in the early stages, with the first seats filled in the late afternoon. The final result may not be clear for days. But that hasn't stopped the leaders of Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail speculating about the formulation of the next government. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:19 What to look out for in the Irish election ...