Francois Fillon to Be the Conservative Presidential Candidate

The former French prime minister, Francois Fillon, has become the undisputed leader of the centre-right for next year's presidential election. He beat another former prime minister, Alain Juppe, in the primaries by a wide margin.

The British chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, last week published his autumn statement - his forecast for the UK economy - and it made for sober reading, with warnings of an economic slowdown and higher inflation.

Thirteen opposition parties in India have called for a nationwide protest against the government's currency overhaul.