INTERNATIONAL

Ireland should recover up to €13bn (£11bn) from Apple in back taxes, the European Commission has ruled. After a three-year investigation, it has concluded that the US firm’s Irish tax benefits are illegal. The Commission said Ireland enabled the company to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate tax rate of no more than 1%. Ireland ...

Brazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousseff has defended her record during her impeachment trial in the Senate. She is accused of illegally manipulating the budget to hide a growing deficit. Ms Rousseff said her conscience was “absolutely clean” and that she had not committed any crime. Senators are due to vote later this week on whether to remove her from office ...

A ceasefire has come into effect in Colombia between the main leftist rebel group and the government, ending one of the world’s longest insurgencies. The ceasefire at midnight local time (05:00 GMT Monday) came after four years of peace talks in Cuba between the Farc and the government. The final agreement on ending the 52-year-old war will be signed next ...

A probe flown by the US space agency Nasa has made its first close approach to the planet Jupiter since going into orbit in July. Juno was commanded to pass just 4,200km above the cloud tops of the gas giant on Saturday. No previous spacecraft has got so close to the world during the main phase of its mission. Juno ...

About 30 French mayors have been urged to follow a court ruling which overturned a controversial ‘burkini ban’ in a resort town. France’s top administrative court suspended the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet on Friday on civil liberties grounds. However, a number of mayors have said they will continue applying the bathing suit ban. The human rights lawyer who brought Friday’s case ...

A day of national mourning has begun in Italy for the almost 300 people who died when a powerful earthquake hit mountainous central regions. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is due to attend state funerals for victims from Arquata, one of the worst-hit towns. A state of emergency has been declared in affected areas and €50m (£42m) in funds pledged for ...

France’s highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full-body “burkini” swimsuits that was imposed in a town on the Mediterranean coast. The ban in Villeneuve-Loubet “seriously and clearly illegally breached fundamental freedoms”, it found, including freedom of belief. The ruling could set a precedent for up to 30 other towns that imposed bans on their beaches, chiefly on the ...

Italy has declared a state of emergency in the regions worst hit by Wednesday’s earthquake as hopes of finding more survivors fade. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged €50m (£42m) in funds for rebuilding. At least 250 people are now known to have died and 365 were injured. Teams have continued to search the rubble of toppled buildings for a ...

Hundreds of aftershocks have rocked devastated areas of central Italy, hampering search efforts after a deadly earthquake. A strong tremor with magnitude 4.3 struck on Thursday afternoon, sending rescuers fleeing from already fragile buildings. More than 4,000 rescue workers are combing through rubble for survivors using heavy machinery or bare hands. A total of 241 people are now known to ...

The death toll in the Italian earthquake has risen to at least 247 as thousands of rescuers continue efforts to find survivors. Dozens are believed trapped in ruined Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, in mountainous central Italy. The search went on through the night, and there was a strong aftershock which rocked already damaged buildings. More than 4,300 rescuers ...