it isa conservative wing of fine gael. critics attacked him for cracking down on benefits cheats. his main rival in the election, he suggested leo varadkar would bring the party to the right. leo varadkar went on to say that he was talking about people who get up early in the morning, notjust about people who get up early in the morning, not just about entrepreneurs, about carers who get up entrepreneurs, about carers who get up early to look after parents, for people who are in the public sector. he positions himself as a centrist. he positions himself as a centrist. he would see himself in the same vein as the french president, a young, dynamic centrist leader. that is the direction he says he'll be taking the country in. it's beyond the bounds of possibility there could be a general election here later this year, as the coalition which fine gael lead isjust a minority government currently. there could be another poll later this year. or set could be another poll later this year. orset in could be another poll later this

that will never happen under my leadership of fine gael. and bailouts, however, it is preparing for brexit, and with the uk a deeply important trading partner, the terms of a deal are vital. as taoiseach, enda kenny worked to be seen as a friend to the british government, on the eu side of the negotiation table. but a prime minister of a different generation has been selected to lead ireland into the talks. the first taoiseach to be gay and from an ethnic minority background. british airways says it‘s changing its advice to passengers seeking expenses for last weekend‘s disruption — after an online form told them to claim on their travel insurance in the first instance. the company altered its stance after a complaint from the association of british insurers. some 75,000 passengers were stranded by the it shutdown following a power surge on saturday. at least seven people have been killed in the afghan capital, kabul — during clashes between riot police and protesters. it‘s the second day of demonstrations in the city with people protesting

as leader of fine gael, i have shown that predators has no place in this republic. dream big dreams and their children. —— prejudice has no place. there is no limit to the possibilities if they are given the opportunity. varadkar‘s father migrated from india, becamea varadkar‘s father migrated from india, became a doctor, and married a nurse. last year, he came out as 93v- a nurse. last year, he came out as gay. he celebrated the "yes" vote on 93v gay. he celebrated the "yes" vote on gay marriage on stage. and leo is very different to andy kenney. he is a different kind of man. —— enda. he has steel and determination in. ireland may have emerged from crisis and bailouts, but as head of minority government, varadkar is go to find that his leadership is tested sooner rather than later. 0k. let's rev things up a bit. motorbikes are, of course, common throughout africa, but in the togolese capital, lome, they really are everywhere. such is their popularity that, as a visitor to the west african country, you may be forgiven for thinking everyone in togo seems to either o

i indeed have been elected the 11th leader of fine gael.ng one name. i think if my election as leader of fine gael, today, it's that prejudice has no place in this republic. and so every proud parent in ireland today can dream big dreams for their children. every boy and girl can know there is no limit to their ambition, their possibilities, if they are given the opportunity. varadkar‘s father was a doctor, who migrated from india, and married an irish nurse. two years ago, he came out as gay, ahead of a referendum on the introduction of same—sex marriage. he celebrated the "yes" vote on stage, a sign of social change in what many still call "catholic ireland". and leo is certainly different from last leader, enda kenny. he's not one of these high—fiving enda kenny types, but, you know, that's not always what's needed. councillors and the parliament and the party know what is in him, and that's steel and determination. ireland's economy may have emerged from bank crises and bailouts, but brexit poses it's own challenges for the uk's neighbo

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar — the of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. coming up shortly on bbc news, we will have new swatch but first it is time for click. —— news watch. summer is on the way and, well, it wouldn't be a british summer without a visit to a good old fashioned festival. no, not that one. much better. known as the town of books, hay—on—wye, in wales, is the location of the hay festival. it's a literary mecca, an annual gathering of artists, authors, daleks and, yep, even royals. it's even been called the woodstock of the mind by none other than former us president bill clinton. this year it's the 30th hay festival and the line—up is pretty stellar. well, for the second year in a row, we've been invited to share some of our favourite experiences and show off some really good tech, all in front of a real, live audience of actual people. what could possibly go wrong? a packed tent waited, all

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar, theon of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. syria's national football team has a real chance of qualifying for the world cup. it's an astonishing achievement for a country entering its seventh year of a bloody civil war. the team can't play at home and many of its star players have left syria. richard conway has spent time with members of the squad in damascus, and the whole team in malaysia where they won a qualifying match against uzbekistan. he reports now for our world. they are the unlikely sporting heroes in a country route is apart by conflict. —— country ripped apart. syria is in the midst of a bloody civil war but the national football tea m bloody civil war but the national football team is trying to send a message it hopes canon transcend political and religious differences. —— hopes can. iam i am following the team as they compete for a place in football's biggest

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar, theon of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. now let's take a brief look at some of this morning's front pages. we start with the mirror which leads with the conservative candidate for south thanet, craig mackinlay, being charged with breaking electoral law. the tories have said the allegations are unfounded. the election is also the main story on the express, with snp leader nicola sturgeon saying she'd be willing to enter coalition talks with labour, if the result is inconclusive. the mail cites research, which suggests statins can dramatically cut the risk of dying from breast cancer. theresa may has vowed to consult businesses at every step of the brexit negotiations, in an interview with the financial times. the i leads with the charge of alleged overspending faced by conservative candidate for south thanet craig mackinlay. the telegraph says defence secretary michael fall

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar — the of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. now let's take a brief look at some of this morning's front pages. we start with the mirror which leads with the conservative candidate for south thanet, craig mackinlay, being charged with breaking electoral law. the tories have said the allegations are unfounded. the election is also the main story on the express — with snp leader nicola sturgeon saying she'd be willing to enter coalition talks with labour, if the result is inconclusive. the mail cites research, which suggests statins can dramatically cut the risk of dying from breast cancer. the telegraph says defence secretary michael fallon has pledged high earners won't face an income tax increase, if the conservatives remain in power after the election. and the guardian says labour has accused the tories of using fake news ads to attackjeremy corbyn. now on bbc news, time for th

he was voted in as leader of fine gael.ake over from end kenny in the next few weeks. leo is a new face of modern ireland. the son ofan a new face of modern ireland. the son of an immigrant, openly gay and four months he has been favourite to become this country's new prime minister. he set out his vision of leadership amid a sea of science. minister. he set out his vision of leadership amid a sea of scienceli leadership amid a sea of science.” think if my election has shown anything, it is that prejudice has no hold in this republic. and so every proud parent in ireland today can dream big dreams for their children. every boy and girl can know there is no limit to their ambitions, their possibilities, if they are given opportunities. leo varadkar‘s father was a doctor. he emigrated from india and married a nurse. he came out as gay following the introduction of same—sex marriage. he celebrated the yes vote on stage, a sign of social change in what many called catholic ireland. he is not one of these high—fiving types. that

mr varadkar is one of two candidates for the leadership of ireland's biggest political party, fine gaelnt. the other contender is simon coveney, the irish housing minister. he is 1111, meaning that whoever winds will be ireland's he is 1111, meaning that whoever wins will be ireland's youngest ever leader. but a huge majority of the party's parliamentarians have publicly endorsed mr varadkar, meaning he is almost certain to be elected. the outgoing prime minister enda kenny is standing down after six yea rs. he came under pressure after his party lost seats in the general election last year. the biggest issue for his successor is the departure of ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk, from the eu. enda kenny has described it as the biggest challenge the irish republic has faced in its history. chris page, bbc news, dublin. with the general election under a week away, my colleague victoria derbyshire has been organising a series of election blind dates — a lunch between two people with very different political views. today it's the turn of labour'sjess phillips and the conservative'sjohn w

mr varadkar is one of two candidates for the leadership of ireland's biggest political party, fine gaelhe irish housing

lee override court, if as expected is collected leader of fine gael and therefore the next taoiseachpenly gay prime minister and the first of asian extraction, he is the son of an indian immigrant, there is another contender, simon coveney, but he fell behind in the opening days of the leadership contest because leo varadkar won the most votes. 21,000 members of the party have been voting as well, those votes are being counted now here in central dublin, we expect the result sometime after five o'clock, it is interesting when you look at the way this contest has been reported international, if you put leo varadkar‘s name into any international search engine you get a lot of international news sites as your results and a lot of them have focused on the fact he is gay and half indian but whenever leo varadkar came out two years ago he said he did not want that tore his best mother's day to define him and that has proved the case i think, the campaign has not focused on those things but it has focused on economic issues, he would be seen as socially liberal but economic claymore conserv

leo varadkar, if expected is elected leader of fine gael, he would be ireland's youngest ever leader,ion, he is the son ofan first of asian extraction, he is the son of an indian immigrant. the irish republic's housing minister is also in the race but he fell behind because leo varadkar won the support of most of the members of parliament and the way the voting system works is that the m members of parliament have the biggest say. but members of the party across the country have been voting and those which are being counted right now, we expect a result sometime after 5pm, perhaps towards 6pm. the way the contest has been reported internationally, if you put leo varadkar‘s name into any search engine you get a lot of results from international news sites and almost all of the headlines have focused on the fact headlines have focused on the fact he is gay and half indian. but whenever leo varadkar came out as 93v whenever leo varadkar came out as gay and a radio interview he said he did not want that or his ethnicity to define him and it's proved the case here in ireland during this an

today for the first time and offer my congratulations on his appointment as taoiseach and leader fine gaelunited kingdom and ireland is one of friendship, close co—operation and a deep sense of shared endeavour bound by common values, and generations of familiar links between our people. the taoiseach has said he believes in an ireland where every person has an opportunity to succeed and share in prosperity and i share a similar belief in the united kingdom should belief in the united kingdom should bea belief in the united kingdom should be a place where everyone should have the chance to live a secure and happy life, a country that works for everyone, not just the happy life, a country that works for everyone, notjust the privileged few. we also spoke about the unimaginable tragedy which struck g re nfell tower last unimaginable tragedy which struck grenfell tower last week. the government will continue to do absolutely everything possible to help all of those affected through the difficult days, weeks, months and years ahead. and we spoke too about the appalling attack on londoners in f

mr varadkar is one of two candidates for the leadership of ireland's biggest political party, fine gaelparty's parliamentarians have publicly endorsed mr varadkar, meaning he is almost certain to be elected. the outgoing prime minister enda kenny is standing down after six yea rs. he came under pressure after his party lost seats in the general election last year. the biggest issue for his successor is the departure of ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk, from the eu. enda kenny has described it as the biggest challenge the irish republic has faced in its history. chris page, bbc news, dublin. migration brought 85,000 people to scotland last year — taking the total population to just over five—million. the scottish government has said it's a "key priority" in tackling the ageing population and attracting new working—age people to the nation. but how do voters feel about the issue it ahead of the election. graham satchell has been to glasgow to investigate. the people who make glasgow today come from all over the world. can i ask you where you come from? poland. what do you think of glas