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A man on trial in Germany on charges of fighting for Islamic State militants in Syria has been offered a shorter jail term in exchange for a confession.

Prosecutors in Frankfurt also suggested the deal would include receiving full information from Kreshnik Berisha, 20, about the inner workings of the group.

They allege Mr Berisha had weapons training and combat experience with Islamic State (IS) last year.

He was arrested at Frankfurt airport last December while on his way home.

The trial — the first in Germany for alleged membership of IS — comes amid growing alarm at the potential threat posed by jihadists returning to Europe.

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Pilots for Air France have begun a week-long strike.

The carrier will run less than 50% of normal flights, it said.

The pilots are protesting against a transfer of jobs by the airline to a low-cost carrier to keep up with competition.

Air France is urging passengers around the world to change or postpone travel. Last week it said it would transfer much of its European operations to low-cost carrier Transavia.

The same difficult conditions are faced by large airlines across Europe, facing tough rivalry from budget airlines and Gulf state carriers, that are often backed by royal families.

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The leader of Sweden’s Social Democrats says he will try to form a government after their election win, but will not work with the far right.

Results show Stefan Lofven’s opposition party is set to return to power, but with no clear parliamentary majority.

They give the centre-left bloc 43.7%, ahead of 39.3% for Fredrik Reinfeldt’s centre-right ruling coalition. The far-right Sweden Democrats were at 13%.

Mr Reinfeldt admitted defeat and said he would step down as PM on Monday.

He also confirmed that he would step down as leader of the conservative Moderate Party.

Early this morning Stefan Lofven spoke briefly to Swedish media as he left his home in central Stockholm.

«Now the work starts,» he said. «We must have cooperation across bloc boundaries. Now begins the process of forging alliances between parties and not just within bloc boundaries. This is what we should do.»

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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is spending a week governing the country from a remote indigenous community in the Northern Territory.

He arrived in Arnhem Land on Sunday, honouring an election promise to spend a week every year in an indigenous area.

Mr Abbott says he wants to hear from local people about community needs.

His visit comes a day after he committed Australian troops to the fight against Islamic State militants.

On Sunday Mr Abbott announced the deployment of 600 troops to the United Arab Emirates ahead of possible combat operations against Islamist militants in Iraq.

Late last week, Australia also raised its terrorism threat level to «high» for the first time in over a decade, amid concerns over the effect of Islamist conflicts on domestic security.

Mr Abbott said he would be in regular contact with Canberra. «Obviously, if there are dramatic new developments I can move if needs be,» he said.

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The chief executive of the Italian oil and natural gas company ENI is under investigation over international corruption allegations.

Claudio Descalzi is facing questions about a large Nigerian oil deal.

The company said in a statement that «it is cooperating with the Milan prosecutor’s office» and that it «continues to deny any illegal conduct».

Shares in the company were down 2% in afternoon trading.