NewsBank (Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland))

Broadcaster and political commentator Ivan Yates did not land himself in hot water for saying, controversially, that Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys should “smear the bejaysus” out of her Independent opponent Catherine Connolly in the presidential election campaign.

Imagine cutting the hair of the equivalent of every spectator who attended the last two All-Ireland senior hurling and football finals at the 82,000-capacity Croke Park and then some.

A rebooted Ireland team have had a reset after last week’s deflating and disappointing defeat to the All Blacks. In normal circumstances therefore, hosting the Brave Blossoms might almost seem anticlimactic, and something of a no-win game, but now it is not only a must-win game, but one Ireland need to win convincingly as well.

The European Commission is proposing a pause to parts of its landmark artificial intelligence laws amid intense pressure from big tech companies and the US government.

It’s far from an inspiring time to be an environmental advocate, with EU climate ministers earlier this week opting to water down their climate change mitigation goals in last-minute negotiations in advance of the UN Cop30 summit in Brazil.

The aircraft looked like a large black and white spider squatting on the ground near a wharf in the southern Chinese port city of Guangzhou, with two rotors at the end of each of its eight legs. There was a growl as the blades began to turn and the vehicle, with two seats but no pilot, rose vertically into the sky.

You would not expect to bump into an on-duty garda walking around Brussels but there is a chance that you might these days.

Back in Cork for the first time in a while, on Thursday, I heard again the distinctive call of the Evening Echo seller. “Echo-Ech-ooo!” it rang out onomatopoeically along Oliver Plunkett Street. But this time there was another part to it I didn’t remember hearing before.

The Department of Health is examining a ban on nicotine pouches as part of measures to reduce the use of the substance among children and young adults, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has said.

After RTÉ management told workers this week of plans to wind down the broadcaster’s television documentary unit imminently, an already febrile atmosphere in Montrose has darkened substantially.

A young man stole a Bus Éireann vehicle in Co Donegal and drove it to Dublin after being told another bus was full.

Kerry’s David Clifford has won a third PwC GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year award last night’s All Stars ceremony at the RDS in Dublin. This latest recognition comes after also winning the distinction in 2022 and ’23.

The president-elect was in Leinster House again this week but she managed to stay below the radar during a low-key visit. Although back in her familiar political stomping ground on Thursday, politics was strictly off the menu.

‘We are holding our own,” Ernest McSorley, captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald said as the famous freighter made its way through a treacherous evening on Lake Superior. But they weren’t.

Ukraine’s leaders are under pressure to order an urgent retreat from the eastern city of Pokrovsk and the neighbouring town of Myrnohrad, as Russia’s invasion force tightens its grip on the area and threatens to close all escape routes for its defenders.

When British Airways owner IAG came calling to buy Aer Lingus a decade ago, it quickly became a political football.

In Dublin’s northeast inner city, where tricolours flutter amid belligerent signs claiming Ireland is full, you might think that no resource that could help with integration and community building would be overlooked. You would be wrong.

When Hermann Göring and other leading Nazis entered a grand Nuremberg courtroom 80 years ago, watching eight yards away was Belfast man Seaghan Maynes.

Holly Cairns is losing patience with the “nonsense” in Leinster House. The 36-year-old Cork Southwest TD had her first baby on the day of the 2024 general election, finished maternity leave and returned to her role as leader of the Social Democrats in September. Motherhood hasn’t changed her political lens, as she was always alive to issues such as childcare.

Sir, – Peter Elst’s letter concerning the Irish language (Letters, November 5) inadvertently highlights one of the greatest obstacles to the revival of the language. His correction of Michael Deasy’s spelling of cúpla focal brings the unnecessary complexity of modern Irish grammar into focus.

The front page of the New York Post has been warning of the perils of Zohran Mamdani for weeks but in a happy irony, they discovered that the election of a socialist mayor can be good for business. On Wednesday, they came up with a moment of classic tabloid art, with Mamdani beneath the blazing headline: The Red Apple (On Your Marx, Get Set, Zo), raising aloft a red hammer and sickle. The edition

This week, investors channelled their best version of Vogue Magazine supremo Anna Wintour, as Associated British Foods (ABF) paraded a plan to split its fast-fashion Primark unit – Penneys in Ireland – from its food business down the London City runway.

Just before world leaders gathered for the Cop30 climate change conference, the Brazilian government issued a dispensation note to intending participants.

As the extent of Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in the New York mayoral race became apparent on Tuesday night, it was hard to ignore the similarities with Catherine Connolly’s successful presidential campaign in Ireland.

Tensions have surfaced across the political spectrum in recent days over how to speak about the large numbers of people continuing to come to Ireland. Tánaiste Simon Harris declared last week that immigration numbers are too high. He coupled this with criticism of slow enforcement of deportation orders for those refused international protection. His comments were swiftly denounced as a populist...

Local organisers of the main pro-Palestine protest outside Aston Villa’s football match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, held in the majority-Muslim Birmingham enclave of Aston, spent much of the evening on loudhailers imploring everybody to stay peaceful.

ÉANNA Ó CAOLLAÍ Irish Language Editor Irish-language advocacy groups have given a mixed reaction to the contents of a new two-part Government policy on Irish in the education system.

A woman who is refusing to leave a hospital after 719 days, even though doctors say she needs no further treatment, could be moved out of the private room she is in into another room, a High Court judge has said.

Here we are then, at the midway point in the World Cup cycle, and it’s doubtful if there will be another Saturday quite like this one for taking a dive into Ireland’s depth chart.

Eddie Jones is a funny one. A few years back when he was with England, he won world Rugby Coach of the Year, an award that looked like a crowning achievement, walked like a crowning achievement and quacked like a crowning achievement. Jones has always traded as an outsider though.