Battered EU centre holds off populist surge in vote

Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage.In one of the world's biggest democratic votes, the main centre-right and centre-left groups lost their combined majority in the European Parliament in the face of a challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces.The symbolic clash of the campaign saw French far right leader Le Pen's National Rally on course to come in just a