Europe, Presidential Election | featured news

The Irish Labour party's Michael D Higgins has been confirmed as the ninth president of the republic after winning a landslide victory in the most fractious campaign in the country's history. The poet and campaigner gained a 56.8% share of the vote, putting him comfortably ahead of his rivals – Dragons' Den star Seán Gallagher, who came second, and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, who ended in third place.

DUBLIN, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A gay senator who was the front-runner to win Ireland's figurehead presidency quit the race on Tuesday after admitting he used his office to plead for clemency for a friend convicted of having sex with a minor.

The arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in connection with a sexual assault in New York risks throwing the French presidential race in disarray.