The interior ministry estimates 600,000 people joined protests across France, while the unions say the number was far higher.

At least 21 flights across Europe are affected in what the UK government calls a "malicious hoax threat".

Most analysts expected the increase from 3.75% to 4%.

The BBC's economics editor views one more interest rate as likely, but thinks that will be all.

European Council President António Costa suggested narrowing a controversial business tax to only apply to large firms with a turnover exceeding €750 million per year, two EU diplomats briefed on the discussions told POLITICO. Costa hopes these concessions will facilitate an overall agreement on new EU-wide levies, known as own resources, which have emerged as a major stumbling bloc in the ongoing negotiations. The idea was mentioned in meetings, known as “confessionals,” between Costa’s head of cabinet Pedro Lourtie and EU governments Thursday, to test the waters on the most sensitive aspects in the negotiations. Lourtie overhauled an unpopular corporate tax known as CORE — which charges a lump sum on companies’ revenues exceeding €100 million — that the European Commission proposed last year. According to his proposal, the EU would charge a 0.05% levy, as opposed to a lump sum. It would also only apply to firms with an annual turnover of more than €750 million. These changes are expected to soften opposition among a group of countries led by Germany that challenged CORE on the grounds that it undermines competitiveness and takes a toll on medium-sized enterprises. Going further But two diplomats fear these concessions will not be enough to muster support for the new levy. “I don’t think this is going to solve the problem on CORE,” one told POLITICO. They, like others in this story, were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. France is pushing to introduce new taxes to reduce contributions to the EU budget. In a concession to Paris, Costa’s team indicated that they won’t cut down on the total revenue projections from the Commission’s tax proposal from last year, which was expected to generate €65 billion annually.  To generate additional resources for the budget, Costa’s team also suggested increasing two largely uncontroversial taxes on non-collected plastic and electronic waste that flows directly to the bloc’s budget by levying an additional 25 cents on each kilo. The diplomats also proposed raising the share of a carbon imports’ tax that flows to the EU cash pot to 100% from the current 75%, and exploring levies on crypto firms and national spectrum auctions. In a further concession, Lourtie suggested phasing in two taxes on tobacco products and polluting firms, known as the Emissions Trading System, for countries that are overwhelmingly affected. Confessional diplomacy The bilaterals, which started Thursday and will continue until next Monday, are expected to pave the way for a budget deal by the end of 2026 — before next year’s elections in Poland, France and Italy threaten to derail the negotiations. Costa will put forward a new budget negotiating document on Nov. 21 ahead of a special summit the following week, said the two diplomats. During Thursday’s meetings, Costa’s team signaled that the budget would be cut further, and reductions might affect regional funding known as cohesion policy. That would be a major setback for an alliance of Southern and Eastern European countries, known as the Friends of Cohesion. Cuts to farmers’ subsidies were deemed less likely, said the two diplomats.

LONDON — Nigel Farage blamed Donald Trump’s midterms catastrophe on broken anti-foreign intervention promises Thursday, branding his decision to launch a war with Iran as “bizarre.” The U.S. president’s right-wing ally in Britain echoed other high-profile conservative figures in lamenting the price-spiking conflict and warned against a fresh campaign of attacks in the Middle East. Farage has long considered Trump a personal friend, but has come under pressure to distance himself from the U.S. president, who is deeply unpopular in the U.K.  The Reform leader has been more critical against a backdrop of global economic woes triggered by the war waged against Tehran by America and Israel. Farage, leader of the insurgent right-wing Reform UK party, told reporters after a defense speech in London that he wouldn’t have supported a drawn-out conflict with Iran. He said it was “bizarre” that Trump, of all people, took such action, considering he took power on a pledge to avoid endless foreign wars. Asked about the biggest lesson he took from the midterms carnage for the Republicans, Farage said: “Keep your promises.” He praised Trump’s “very good” track record of staying faithful to the electorate during his first term, but said, “He broke a promise — that was no more foreign wars.” “We’re eight months in, and the resultant rise in gas and diesel prices, more than anything else, is what did them in,” Farage said. He later told broadcasters that he worries the U.S. president will “continue aggressively attacking Iran” now that he has lost Congress. Farage was initially supportive after Trump launched strikes in February. He urged the U.K. government to “back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran!” But within two weeks he changed his tune. He subsequently urged ministers not to “get involved directly in another foreign war.” Senior figures in Reform UK have been trying to distance themselves from Trump in the wake of MAGA’s midterm drubbing at the hands of the Democrats. One high-ranking adviser, granted anonymity to discuss transatlantic relations, said the party would continue building “good relations” with senior Republicans like JD Vance and Marco Rubio. “Reform already has good relations with multiple Republicans, and that process will continue,” they added. Others argued for greater network building with right-wing movements in Europe. “I’ve never been a huge fan of Mr. Trump,” said one official. “He does speak for a particular slice of American society, but in practical terms what happens on the continent is somewhat more important,” the official added, pointing to the rise of right-wing parties in France, Italy and Spain. “Given we have a PM that is committed on salami slicing us back into the EU,” they added. “Personally, I think that’s more important than America.”

More than 250,000 people took to the streets across France on Thursday as five unions called a day of strike action.

The Republican midterm rout is helping shape who leads Israel next, as Netanyahu’s US ties turn toxic.

Planes forced into emergency landings or diversions two days after hoax alerts affected air travelHoax bomb threats have caused at least 25 flights across Europe to be disrupted, with some forced to make emergency landings, as questions mount over an apparently coordinated effort to cause chaos for travellers.The series of warnings on Thursday affected flights between Italy, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, France, Greece, Serbia and Czechia. Continue reading...

EU transport commissioner says ‘too early’ to say if bomb threats to 20 flights are linkedTell us: have you been affected by the bomb threats?And the Italian news agency Ansa reported that two more planes with links to Italy were affected by bomb threats this morning: that’s a WizzAir service from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw, which reportedly landed in Vienna, and a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome Fiumicino.Belgian newspaper Le Soir also reported a bomb threat against a LOT Polish Airline flight from Warsaw, which now landed at Zaventem. Continue reading...

Demonstrations over cost of living on Thursday appeared to attract the biggest turnout since the movement began in September

But Britain’s hard-pressed universities should not be left worse off

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday said he would commute all 548 death sentences in the state to life in prison without parole, marking a major step away from capital punishment as he prepares to leave office after eight years.

Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday he was retiring from international football at the age of 41. 

Experts at Moonshot 2026 in Lagos call for harmonised regulations and seamless digital payments to boost intra-African trade and as Silicon Valley pulls back, home-grown startups are stepping up to shape the continent's digital future.

More than 8,000 Burkinabé gold miners were forcibly expelled from Guinea-Conakry after authorities there imposed a ban on artisanal and illegal gold mining in several areas of the country's northeast