France local elections: Conservatives hold off National Front

France's centre-right UMP party and its allies have taken first place in the first round of local elections, according to official results from the Interior Ministry.

They took 32% of the vote, while the far-right National Front (FN) came second with 25%.

President Francois Hollande's governing Socialists came third with 22%.

The results mean the second round on 29 March will see a run-off between the UMP and the FN in many constituencies.

Voters are electing representatives in 101 departments, or counties, charged with issues like schools and welfare.

UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy said the outcome of the first round demonstrated "the French people's profound desire for change".

"The conditions for a massive swing back to the right and the centre are in place," he added.

Mr Sarkozy also ruled out any "local or national" deals with the FN in constituencies where one of the two parties is involved in run-offs with the Socialists.

In the past, voters for rival parties have rallied against the far-right group in the second round of voting.

Mr Hollande, pictured here leaving a polling booth, has seen support for his Socialists fading

Ms Le Pen, who cast her ballot in Henin-Beaumont in northern France, is expected to run for president

Analysis: Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris

It's another big vote for the French far right, following the municipal and European elections last year. In this first round of departmental or county council elections, nationwide 24.5% of voters chose the National Front, according to one poll.

It is a figure that shows yet again how Marine Le Pen's strategy of building a system of local organisation and shutting down the party's overtly racist elements is paying off.

However, opinion polls had suggested the far-right could have done better - even emerging as the most popular party in the election.

That didn't happen, which has given some cheer to the mainstream opposition here, led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The poor results for the Socialists follows on from their defeats in municipal and EU elections last year.

However, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the party had "resisted better than expected".

Some polls had indicated that Marine Le Pen's FN could come top in the first round.

She had been hoping the elections would build momentum ahead of her expected bid for the presidency in 2017.

However, Ms Le Pen, insisted the result was a "very big success" for her party, exceeding its performance in the European Parliament elections.

In the Var department, in the south-east corner of France, the FN got more than 30% in all constituencies, according to LCI TV.

And in Nord department, near the Belgian border in the north-east, the FN will fight the second round in 37 constituencies out of 41.

For the first time in these elections, voters are not choosing single candidates - but pairs of candidates - one man and one woman - in order to enforce strict gender equality in local politics.

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Greek and German leaders meet amid fears Athens may run out of money

The Greek Prime Minister is on his first official visit to Berlin for talks with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel have struck conciliatory tones at their Berlin summit, but remained vague on how to prevent Athens from running out of money.

Mrs Merkel said she wanted to see the Greek economy grow.

Mr Tsipras said it was better to talk with each other than about each other.

Both countries have been at odds over Greece's efforts to renegotiate the terms of its international bailout.

"We want Greece to be strong economically, we want Greece to grow and above all we want Greece to to overcome its high unemployment," the German chancellor said at a press conference mid-way through talks, which are due to continue over a working dinner.

She said both countries approached the talks as partners in the EU as well as Nato, facing the same geopolitical challenges. "We both have a vested interest in building cooperation based on trust."

As one of 19 eurozone countries Germany was in no position to decide whether Greece's reform programme was appropriate or not, she said. An institutional framework to assess this was in place, she added.

Mr Tsipras and Mrs Merkel addressed questions before a second round of talks in the evening

Mr Tsipras noted that it was almost five years since the start of the Greek bailout, which required massive fiscal adjustments in his country.

"It has not been a success story," he said citing a 25% loss in GDP and 60% youth unemployment.

At the scene: Jenny Hill, BBC News, Berlin

Alexis Tsipras looked preoccupied as he arrived - to full military honours - to meet the chancellor of Europe's largest economy and his country's biggest creditor. There was no doubting who held the balance of power during the press conference after his meeting with Angela Merkel.

And after the heated rhetoric that's passed between Athens and Berlin in recent weeks, perhaps it's no wonder his smiles looked a little nervous. The chancellor had told him over the telephone last week, he said, that it's better to talk to - not about - each other.

That was - many here believe - the real purpose of this meeting; to set a new tone in a fraught relationship. Both leaders spoke of their commitment to the euro zone and to discussions held in a 'spirit of trust.'

But Chancellor Merkel looked irritated as Mr Tsipras brought up the subject of war reparations. And, while she maintained that it's not her role to decide what happens to Greece, she did allude to the fact that - for Berlin - the bottom line is unchanged. Germany expects the new Greek government to make the reforms it promised in return for financial aid.

Mr Tsipras stressed the need for dialogue. "It must be our priority to break the stereotypes that have been created over the past few years. Neither are the Greeks lazy, nor are the Germans responsible for all the ills that take place in Greece," he said.

Instead, he added, both countries should work together to fight corruption, which was "continuing to hold Greece back".

Mrs Merkel said that although some issues were going to be discussed in more detail over dinner, there would not be any new commitments.

The summit comes after a pledge from the European Union (EU) to provide €2bn (£1.45bn) to Greece to ease what it called the country's "humanitarian crisis".

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the €2bn fund would be spent on growth and "social cohesion" in Greece.

But Mrs Merkel said on Friday there would be no new money without reforms.

Mr Tsipras was welcomed with military honours before talks at the chancellery

Mr Tsipras has pledged to end austerity, but so far, his plans have met resistance from Greece's EU creditors.

At last week's EU summit, Greece promised to meet creditors' demands to present an economic reform package within days to unlock the cash it needs to avoid leaving the euro.

According to the Financial Times, Mr Tsipras wrote to Mrs Merkel on 15 March outlining Greece's precarious financial position.

In the letter, he wrote that Greece faced a short-term cash-flow crisis and might have to choose between paying pensions and wages and meeting debt obligations.

Mr Tsipras seems clear which option he would choose, writing that to add to Greece's social crisis was "a prospect that I will not countenance".

Greek proposals so far

• Combat tax evasion
• Tackle corruption
• Commit not to roll back privatisations already introduced, but to review those not yet implemented
• Introduce collective bargaining, stopping short of raising the minimum wage immediately
• Tackle Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed, with no overall public spending increase
• Reform public sector wages to avoid further wage cuts, without increasing overall wage bill
• Achieve pensions savings by consolidating funds and eliminating incentives for early retirement - not cutting payments
• Reduce the number of ministries from 16 to 10, cutting special advisers and fringe benefits for officials

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Rain pauses South Africa thrust

South Africa's Faf du Plessis hits the ball during the Cricket World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Auckland, 

Star Online ReportMarch 24, 2015. Photo: ICC

SEMIFINAL 1: NEW ZEALAND VS SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa 216/3 (38 Overs)                                        Rain pausing play

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat

With Faf du Plesis and AB de Villiers hitting fifties, the “dudes’ stepped on the throttle to thrust South Africa forward against New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal.

This has been a brilliant recovery for the Proteas after co-hosts and heavyweight contenders New Zealand started the match on the top ridding both openers early at Eden Park.

Watch the highlights of today's match in PHOTOS, VIDEOS & MORE

Trent Boult, who is now the leading wicket taker of this tournament, continued his fiery form to this match and got rid of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock early.

The recovery was provided by a crucial 83-run partnership between du Plesis and Rilee Rossouw before the latter was removed by a top catch off Corey Anderson.

AB de Villiers came on to the scene and was dropped midway in his characteristic no-mercy hard hitting innings.

South Africa, who has not had a seamless run thus far in this tournament, won the toss and chose to bat first eyeing to reach the pinnacle of a World Cup for the first time.

The Proteas recalled Vernon Philander in place of Kyle Abbott, a swinger bowler in place of a more hit-the-deck operator. New Zealand brought in Matt Henry in place of Adam Milne.

New Zealand Team

BB McCullum (Capt), MJ Guptill, KS Williamson, LRPL Taylor, GD Elliott, CJ Anderson, L Ronchi (wk), DL Vettori, MJ Henry, TG Southee and TA Boult

South Africa Team

HM Amla, Q de Kock (wk), F du Plessis, AB de Villiers (Capt), RR Rossouw, DA Miller, JP Duminy, VD Philander, DW Steyn, M Morkel and Imran Tahir

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'Monster salamanders' found in fossilised mass grave

Scientists have discovered a new species of massive, toothy amphibian dating from 220 million years ago.

Hundreds of the creatures probably died when a lake dried up, leaving a huge jumble of bones which is now being excavated in southern Portugal.

Although related to modern salamanders, the two-metre beast probably lived more like a crocodile, snapping up fish and scrapping with rivals on the shore.

The find is reported in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Nobody's pet

"It's basically a salamander that's the size of a car," said Dr Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh who led the research.

"It's one of those creatures from the distant past that looks like an alien - but it actually has quite a lot of relevance. These kind of big amphibians were the ancestral stock that modern frogs, salamanders and newts came from."

But unlike the mostly small and cute amphibians we know today, Metoposaurus algarvensis sat, rather heavily, at the top of the food chain.

In a way, it was the death of these things that allowed the dinosaurs and mammals to take over

Dr Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh

"[It] had hundreds of sharp teeth in its big flat head, which kind of looks like a toilet seat when the jaws snap shut," Dr Brusatte said.

In the late Triassic period, when dinosaurs and mammals were still small and marginal, it was monsters like this which were "the big dogs", he told BBC News.

Other, related species were even bigger, stretching up to 10m in length - more like a bus than car.

Together these species dominated the supercontinent Pangaea, which was only beginning to split into today's land masses.

Dangerous waters

"These big amphibians were some of the main predators and denizens of that world. So our earliest ancestors and the earliest dinosaurs would have had to deal with these guys in their formative years," Dr Brusatte explained.

Dr Brusatte and his colleagues excavated the fossils in Portugal

Mostly their big jaws were used to munch fish, and being amphibians they were unable to venture far from water. But Dr Brusatte imagines M. algaryensis would have posed a big, ugly threat to any early mammals or dinosaurs that got too close.

"Like people down in Louisiana or Florida today: 'Stay away from the water or the crocs might get you!' I think that's what it would have been like with the earliest dinosaurs."

In spite of their dominance, this and related species of outsized amphibian all died out in the late Triassic when the world was rocked by millennia of savage volcanic eruptions.

"In a way it was the death of these things that allowed the dinosaurs and mammals to take over," Dr Brusatte said.

And in that turbulent climate, smaller scale exterminations - such as the one captured in the ancient Portuguese lake bed - were common. A car-sized salamander could hardly strike out for a far-off lake if its own waterway dried up.

That makes "big mass graves of monstrous amphibians" a known feature of the Triassic, Dr Brusatte said.

At the dig in the Algarve, he and his colleagues have explored only a small fraction of the area. They have found fossilised bones from at least 10 individuals and expect to find hundreds more.

"That's a pretty neat thing, because it means we have a lot of fossils that can really tell us about how big this guy was, about what its biology was like, about the world that it inhabited."

Susan Evans is a professor of palaeontology at University College London. She told BBC News the new Metoposaurus was an impressive specimen, and noteworthy as the first such find in Europe.

She added, however, that similar animals are already well-known within the field.

"It's a well-preserved specimen and it's a new locality, but these things have been found in quite a lot of places," Prof Evans said.

And although the salamander is indeed this critter's closest living relative, she emphasised that they are far from kissing cousins.

"They're relatives of salamanders in the same way that the duck-billed platypus is a distant relative of ours," she said.

Not just a place for holidays - the Algarve is home to a mass grave of these Triassic curiosities

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David Cameron 'won't serve third term' if re-elected

David Cameron has told the BBC he will not serve a third term as prime minister if the Conservatives remain in government after the general election.

The PM said if re-elected he would serve the full five years of another Parliament and then leave Number 10.
Mr Cameron tipped Home Secretary Theresa May, Chancellor George Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson as potential successors.
Labour accused him of arrogance while the Lib Dems called him presumptuous.
In an interview with BBC deputy political editor James Landale, Mr Cameron described the three Conservative heavyweights as "great people" with "plenty of talent".

'Shredded Wheat'

James Landale said the PM's comments would "electrify the election campaign".
"Not only will this kick-start a lengthy Tory leadership contest, it will also send a message to voters that if they back the prime minister now, he would not go on and on as some previous prime ministers had done," he said.
"But it is quite a gamble. There is a risk that some voters will think Mr Cameron is being arrogant for presuming the result of an election that could see him dismissed from Downing Street in a matter of weeks."

The prime minister said during the interview he felt his job was "half done" with the economy "turned round" and that he wanted to "finish the job" of education and welfare reform.

But he said: "There definitely comes a time where a fresh pair of eyes and fresh leadership would be good, and the Conservative Party has got some great people coming up - the Theresa Mays, and the George Osbornes, and the Boris Johnsons.

"You know, there's plenty of talent there. I'm surrounded by very good people."

He added: "I've said I'll stand for a full second term, but I think after that it will be time for new leadership.

"Terms are like Shredded Wheat - two are wonderful but three might just be too many."

Asked whether he could imagine "life outside" if he falls short at the election, Mr Cameron said one day he would "find something else to do" and that he hoped to continue being an MP.

Labour said Mr Cameron was "taking the British public for granted" by discussing a third term.

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander, the party's general election co-ordinator, said: "It is typically arrogant of David Cameron to presume a third Tory term in 2020 before the British public have been given the chance to have their say in this election."

A UKIP spokesman said: "Mr Cameron's announcement will create the long-awaited civil war in the Conservative Party over Europe."

The Liberal Democrats described the prime minister's comments as "incredibly presumptuous".

But Mr Johnson played down the significance of his remarks. "Frankly it really is people making a fuss about nothing," he said.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Conservative Chief Whip Michael Gove said the comment had been a "statement of the bleeding obvious".

"The prime minister was asked a direct question and he gave an honest answer," he added.

'Sanity check'

Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair ruled out seeking a fourth term ahead of the 2005 general election, leading to speculation about his replacement. His party won that election and Gordon Brown took over as prime minister in 2007.

Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher won a third term at the 1987 general election, but resigned in 1990 following a leadership challenge and was replaced by John Major.

Mr Cameron was elected Conservative Party leader in 2005, and became prime minister in 2010 at the head of the coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

He revealed his intentions in a wide-ranging interview in the latest of a BBC series looking behind the politics of the party leaders.

He also said his eldest daughter, Nancy, was campaigning to get Jeremy Clarkson reinstated as the presenter of Top Gear. Mr Clarkson, who has been suspended following a "fracas" with a producer, is a family friend and neighbour in Mr Cameron's Oxfordshire constituency.

The prime minister joked: "Nancy has threatened to go on hunger strike unless Jeremy Clarkson is restored. I told her this is not necessarily a useful intervention. It is not exactly Gandhi."

He also admitted that being seen as posh had made it easier for his political opponents to describe the Conservatives as a party of the rich, and described his wife Samantha as his "sanity check" during the election campaign.

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Tunisia's Bardo Museum to reopen after deadly attack

Security has been stepped up around the museum following last Wednesday's attack

Tunisia's Bardo Museum is due to reopen less than a week after gunmen killed at least 22 people, mostly European tourists, in the capital Tunis.

A concert and a public rally are expected, with museum officials saying they want to show the world that the gunmen "haven't achieved their goal".

There are fears the attack - claimed by Islamic State (IS) - will hit Tunisia's vital tourism industry.

On Monday, Tunisia's prime minister dismissed six police chiefs.

Habib Essid's office said he had noted several security deficiencies during a visit to the museum, which houses a major collection of Roman mosaics and other antiquities.

Two of the gunmen were killed by the security forces during last Wednesday's attack, while a third is on the run, officials said.

The attack was the deadliest in Tunisia since the uprising which led to the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

Suspects have been arrested over the attack but just two gunmen were thought to have raided the museum.

They are said to have been trained in Libya in an area controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants.

Lyse Doucet: Tunisia's test of transition

Cradle of 'Arab Spring' under threat

Upsurge in extremism

The two gunmen seen in footage released by the interior ministry were named as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui.

They were both killed in a gunfight with security forces inside the building.

In an interview with Paris Match, Mr Essebsi said that "shortcomings" in Tunisia's security system meant "the police and intelligence services had not been thorough enough in protecting the museum".

However, he added that the security services "reacted very efficiently" to the attack and had helped save dozens of lives.

At least 20 foreigners were among those killed in the attack, including British, Japanese, French, Italian and Colombian tourists.

Following the attack, large numbers of Tunisians gathered outside the museum to protest against terrorism.

Tunisia has seen an upsurge in Islamist extremism since the 2011 revolution - the event that sparked the Arab Spring.

The leader of Tunisia's moderate Islamist party, Ennadha, says the country will continue to be under threat of attack as long as neighbouring Libya remains unstable.

Rached Ghannouchi told the BBC that IS would not be able to establish a foothold in Tunisia itself but young men were being armed in Libya and crossing borders that were hard to control.

In recent years Tunisia has been the largest exporter of jihadists in the region, and many of them end up fighting in Syria, reports the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tunis.

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Yemen minister calls for Gulf military intervention

The Houthis have been attempting to extend their control further south

The Yemeni foreign minister has called for Gulf Arab states to intervene to prevent the advance of Shia Houthi rebels into the south of the country.

The Houthis ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi last month, who fled to the southern port city of Aden where he established a rival power base.

At the weekend, the Houthis seized Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, bringing them closer to Aden.

The UN has warned that Yemen is on the edge of civil war.

Mr Hadi's Foreign Minister Riad Yassin told the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper he asked the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to intervene, without elaborating what that would mean.

He also said he had asked the UN and GCC to impose a no-fly zone, after warplanes hit the presidential palace in Aden over the weekend.

The Houthis' rise has alarmed the GCC, and in particular Sunni-controlled Saudi Arabia, which accuses the Houthis of being a proxy for their key regional rival, Shia-majority Iran. Both of them have denied the Saudi claims.

Also on Monday, the Saudi foreign minister warned the Gulf states could take action to shore-up Mr Hadi.

Yemen - who is fighting whom?

The Houthis: A minority Shia from the north, the group seized control of Sanaa last year and have since been expanding their control.

President Hadi: Backed by military and police loyalists, and by militia known as Popular Resistance Committees, he is trying to fight back against the rebels from his stronghold in the south.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: Seen by the US as the most dangerous branch of Al-Qaeda, AQAP opposes both the Houthis and forces loyal to President Hadi.

Islamic State: A Yemeni affiliate of IS has recently emerged, which seeks to eclipse AQAP.

"If this issue is not solved peacefully, we will take the necessary measures to protect the region from their aggression," said Saud al-Faisal.

The UN envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar told the BBC the Saudis had "good reasons" to be concerned about the situation.

But he added: "I don't think any side could win a civil war. No side can win a civil war - the only way forward is negotiation, which implies concession from all sides, which implies also, a compromise."

President Hadi retains strong support in the port of Aden

Britain has meanwhile joined the US in withdrawing special military forces from Yemen because of the deteriorating situation there.

Further deepening the crisis, Islamic State (IS) militants appear to have emerged as a presence in Yemen.

A purported local IS affiliate says it was behind an attack that left 29 dead in Lahj, north of Aden, after another branch claimed the suicide attacks last week in Sanaa that left more than 100 people dead.

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