World Top News

Norway's Princess Märtha Louise has relinquished her royal duties to focus on her alternative medicine business with her fiancé, a self-styled shaman. The Princess will keep her title, but is surrendering official duties to "create a clearer dividing line" between her private and royal role. Her fiancé, Durek Verrett, has promoted unfounded medical practices, including suggesting cancer is a choice. The American also claims to have influenced Gwyneth Paltrow. Princess Märtha Louise is "relinquishing her patronage role" as she and Mr Verrett seek to "distinguish more clearly between their activities and the Royal House of Norway", the palace said in a statement. It added that King Harald V had decided she would keep her title. "She ...

Donald Trump has warned Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis against running for president in 2024, saying doing so would harm the Republican Party. "I think he would be making a mistake. I think the base would not like it," the former president told Fox News. He also threatened to release unflattering information about the 44-year-old, without providing details. Both men have been tipped to announce presidential runs and become likely rivals for the Republican nomination. Mr Trump's comments came just hours before Tuesday's midterm elections that will decide control of Congress. He branded the rising Republican star "Ron DeSanctimonious" at a rally over the weekend. "I don't know if he is running. I think if he runs, he co...

It's a year since the COP26 summit that saw thousands of delegates and more than 100 world leaders descend on Glasgow. As the next annual climate conference gets under way in Egypt this week, BBC Scotland looks at some of the factors from the last 12 months that will influence talks. This year's extreme weather in Scotland and across the globe must focus minds at the COP27 summit, a leading academic has warned. Professor Elizabeth Bomberg says storms, heatwaves and droughts seen since the Glasgow conference are a reminder of the impact of climate change. But there are concerns that the war in Ukraine and associated global energy crisis could derail the process. World leaders are gathering in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh fo...

It is rare for Donald Trump to deliver the same message as Barack Obama and Joe Biden - but it happened when the Republican and two Democrats campaigned in Pennsylvania on the same day. The political foes all urged Americans in the crucial state: go vote. Mr Biden and Mr Obama cast the election as a battle for democracy, while Mr Trump said the country's safety and security were on the line. Tuesday's US midterm elections will determine control of Congress. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are being contested, while 35 are up for grabs in the Senate. In Pennsylvania a razor-thin margin separates Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, 53, from Republican Mehmet Oz, 62. The appearances of two ex-presidents and Presi...

The US Powerball jackpot has risen to $1.9bn (£1.7bn) after there was no winning ticket for Saturday's world-record prize. The premier lottery game has had no winner in more than three months after 39 consecutive drawings. The odds of winning the jackpot in Monday's draw are one in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. The previous world-record jackpot was set in 2016, when $1.59bn was split between three Powerball players. While no-one claimed Saturday's winning prize, there were 16 tickets matching the five main numbers to win $1m (£879,000) each. Powerball tickets cost $2 (£1.76) to buy, and a winner has the option to choose a lump sum payment, which is currently estimated at $929m (£817m) for Monday's draw. Winn...

The UN's climate change summit has opened in Egypt with a warning that our planet is "sending a distress signal". Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was responding to a UN report released on Sunday saying the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record. More than 120 world leaders are due to arrive at the summit known as COP27, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. This will kick off two weeks of negotiations between countries on climate action. COP27 president, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, urged leaders to not let food and energy crises related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine get in the way of action on climate change. "It is inherent on us all in Sharm el-Sheikh to demonstrate our recognition of the...