France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be frequented by children, health and family minister Catherine Vautrin has said. The ban will come into force on 1 July and will include beaches, parks, public gardens, outside schools, bus stops and sports venues. “Tobacco must disappear where there are children,” Vautrin said in…
The trial of Diego Maradona’s medical staff has collapsed in Argentina after it was found that a judge involved in the case had taken part in a documentary about it. The judge in charge of the proceedings said the trial, which began on 11 March and was expected to last until July, would have to…
President Donald Trump met Thursday with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell amid the president badgering the central bank for lower interest rates. The central bank confirmed in a release that the meeting occurred, stressing that the future path of monetary policy was not discussed. “At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President today…
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event announcing new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, April 2, 2025. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images The Trump administration said it may ask the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as Friday to immediately pause a federal court ruling blocking many of President…
France’s National Assembly has voted to abolish low-emission zones, a key measure introduced during President Emmanuel Macron’s first term to reduce city pollution. So-called ZFEs (zones à faibles émissions) have been criticised for hitting those who cannot afford less-polluting vehicles the hardest. A handful of MPs from Macron’s party joined opposition parties from the right…
Girl Child Putting a Coin in a Piggy Bank. Natalia Lebedinskaia | Moment | Getty Images Most people begin saving for retirement when they start full-time jobs — but primary school kids in Germany could get an early start. The country’s new government has made plans to introduce a so-called early start pension, setting up…
The victims of prolific French paedophile Joel Le Scouarnec have expressed their dismay that the former surgeon’s 20-year prison sentence does not include preventive detention – meaning he could be released from jail in the early 2030s. The 74-year-old was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually abusing hundreds of people, most of them underage patients…
A view shows the logo of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 13, 2024. Maxim Shemetov | Reuters OPEC+ countries on Wednesday agreed to leave their formal output quotas unchanged, with market focus shifting toward potential increases from an eight-member subset of…
Oil prices eased on Tuesday as market participants weighed the possibility of an OPEC+ decision to further increase its crude oil output at a meeting later this week. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images Eight oil-producing nations of the OPEC+ alliance could hike output by as much as 411,000 barrels per day in July, two…
Motown legend Smokey Robinson has filed a $500m (£370m) defamation lawsuit against four former housekeepers who have accused the singer of sexual assault. The legal case filed by the star and his wife Frances on Wednesday in California accused the women of fabricating the sexual assault allegations as part of an “extortionate” lawsuit. The Robinsons…
