内容摘要：In July 2016, a month after the UK voted to leave the EU, Mr Juncker – who said he wanted an “experienced politician for this difficult job” – picked Mr Barnier to negotiate the Brexit deal.

In July 2016, a month after the UK voted to leave the EU, Mr Juncker – who said he wanted an “experienced politician for this difficult job” – picked Mr Barnier to negotiate the Brexit deal.

In that case, Barnier will likely be asked to stay on as caretaker as Macron seeks a new prime minister.This proved difficult in the summer, when

that wouldn't immediately be shot down by one of the large parliamentary factions. The search for the next candidate could again take several weeks.To fill the vacuum Macron could also appoint an unelected technocrat government - but these are often short-lived as they struggle to be seen as legitimate.New elections are not an option as under the French constitution they cannot be called within a year of the previous polls, which took place last July.

Several sides are calling for Macron - who is due to remain in post until 2027 - to resign.But on Tuesday he made it clear he had no intention of doing this, saying that he would "honour [the trust of the French people]... until the very last second of my term to serve the country."

A new strain of the mpox virus spreading quickly along the eastern border of Democratic Republic of Congo is "incredibly worrying", say health officials monitoring its spread.

, is making some people very ill and can be deadly.Conservative Richard Roberts said he still believed a single, unitary council delivering all local services "would serve the best interests" of residents but acknowledged more time was needed "to jointly explore all options with district and borough [council] partners".

In a joint statement the leaders of the county's 10 district councils said they "do not support the creation of one unitary council for Hertfordshire".Hertfordshire has retained a two-tier local governance system, but in September 2024 the Conservative-led county council submitted an "expression of interest" in a devolution deal that would have seen that system scrapped.

At the time Roberts said any arrangement would include its district and borough councils that provide services alongside the county council for about 1.2 million people.Neighbouring Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire both have single-tier unitary systems of local government, when one council provides all local services in their area.