Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox.
Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox.
Paris: French far right leader Marine Le Pen has increased her lead in the first round of France's presidential election, though she is still seen being beaten by a wide margin in the runoff, a BVA-Salesforce poll published on Thursday showed.
The National Front head would win 27.5 per cent of the vote in the April 23 first round, up 2.5 percentage points from the last time the poll was conducted on February 4.
Le Pen refuses headscarf for Lebanon's grand mufti
French far-right National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen cancelled a meeting in Beirut with Lebanon's top cleric for Sunni Muslims after refusing to wear a headscarf.
In a new report, the Human Rights Watch says that Philippine police are falsifying evidence to justify unlawful killings in President Rodrigo Duterte's 'war on drugs' that is said to have already caused more than 7000 deaths. Video supplied by Human Rights Watch
Former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear gave the Democratic response to President Trump's address to Congress, telling him "you and your Republican allies in Congress seem determined to rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans who most need it."
Carryn Owens, the widow of US Navy SEAL William Ryan Owens who was killed in a recent raid in Yemen, received a standing ovation as US President Donald Trump spoke of her husband's bravery.
Le Pen refuses headscarf for Lebanon's grand mufti
French far-right National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen cancelled a meeting in Beirut with Lebanon's top cleric for Sunni Muslims after refusing to wear a headscarf.
Independent centrist Emmanuel Macron was seen coming in second in the first round with 21 per cent of the vote, down one percentage point, followed by conservative Francois Fillon at 19 per cent, also down one percentage point.
In the May 7 runoff vote, Macron was seen beating Le Pen 61 per cent to 39 per cent while Fillon was seen winning the presidency with 55 per cent to 45 per cent.
However, because the poll was conducted on Sunday and Monday, it did not reflect the impact of the latest developments in the fast moving campaign, which has seen Fillon lose an early poll lead after being investigated over public funds he paid his family.
The poll did not take into account the possibility of veteran centrist Francois Bayrou running. On Wednesday, Bayrou announced that he would not run and would instead support Macron, which analysts say should give him a boost.
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. Photo: AP
Also on Wednesday Le Pen's chief of staff was put under formal investigation as part of a probe into alleged misuse of EU funds to pay parliamentary assistants.