It took less than five minutes to more than realise the price Christie’s auction house had hoped for, but Francis Bacon’s work has that affect on buyers.

Euro-MPs this afternoon forced the reopening of an anti-terrorism deal with Washington.

Workers for Brazil’s state-run oil company have voted for a five-day strike starting next week.

A FRANCIS BACON portrait of his friend is expected to fetch £7.5 million (€9.4m) at auction.

A Francis Bacon masterpiece sold for $15m (€11.7m), setting a new auction world record for a work by the Irish artist.

MEPs today launched a new drive to “name and shame” EU governments not deemed to be enforcing European legislation banning discrimination against minorities.

One of Europe’s new Commissioners was under growing pressure to step down tonight for describing homosexuality as a “sin”.