The BBC covers the results of elections in Europe and the Middle East.

European Parliament elections: Voters steer Europe to the right

Centre-right parties have done well in elections to the European Parliament at the expense of the left.

Far-right and anti-immigration parties also made gains, as turnout figures plunged to 43% – the lowest since direct elections began 30 years ago.

The UK Labour Party, Germany’s Social Democrats and France’s Socialist Party were heading for historic defeats.

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) looks set to continue to hold power in the parliament.

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The ABC has the picture: Air France tail fin recovered

The Brazilian navy has recovered a large tail section of the Air France flight that crashed off Brazil’s north-east coast a week ago.

The tail fin is one of the biggest pieces of debris to have been recovered and could prove to be one of the most significant.

The aircraft’s black box flight recorders were reportedly mounted in the tail section of the plane and the discovery of the fin could help investigators narrow the underwater search for the devices.

CBS notes that as of today a total of 24 bodies have been recovered.

The US is sending some specialized equipment that is designed to locate the signals sent out by the data recorders. These probes have been used to locate them in deep water in the past. The search area can also be reduced based on the large collection of debris located and the charts of the currents in the area.

The vertical stabilizer appears to have been ripped whole off the fuselage. There are ways to determined how it came off with good confidence based on the changes of the materials where it was detached from the aircraft.