World

So the worst kept secret in Irish politics is finally out, and the people look set to head to the ballot boxes on 29 November. The taoiseach employs several lofty explanations for why he has decided upon an early election, but it’s hard to look beyond political expediency. The Fine Gael party has been flying

Usha Vance is a lawyer, a Yale graduate, the Hindu daughter of Indian immigrants – and has just become the United States’ “second lady”. She was thrust into the spotlight after her husband, JD Vance, was chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Almost immediately, she quit her job as a

Two women have now lost elections to Donald Trump. That fact alone is unbelievable and enraging to Democrats across America. Was it sexism? Misogyny? Bad candidates? Bad policies? Bad campaigning? Those are just some of the myriad questions running wild in the Democratic Party apparatus right now, as they search for answers after the most

Donald Trump appears to have the early advantage in the race for the White House as he is projected to win the first two crucial swing states. Kamala Harris is still in the running to be the first woman to become US president, but her path to victory seems to be narrowing. The pair went

Ukraine has begun firing on North Korean troops inside Russia for the first time since they were deployed in the conflict, a Kyiv official said. They added that Pyongyang’s units were struck in the Kursk region of Russia following a deployment that was criticised by the US and Ukraine’s other Western allies. US, South Korean

The world’s first wooden satellite has been launched into space. The satellite, designed by Japanese researchers, was launched on Tuesday. Experts hope to test how timber can be used in the exploration of the moon and Mars. LignoSat will be flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on a SpaceX mission before it’s released into

Voters across 50 states are preparing to cast their ballots after a bitterly contested US election campaign, which will see Donald Trump or Kamala Harris become president. In the last few hours, both candidates have been giving their final pitches. “The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris told a crowd in Philadelphia that chanted

Israel has ended an agreement that facilitated the work of the main United Nations relief organisation for Palestinian refugees. UNRWA, which is the biggest aid provider in Gaza, has been infiltrated by Hamas, according to Israel which has accused some of the agency’s staff of participating in the 7 October attack in the south of

Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu has won a second term in office after defeating her pro-Russian rival. With nearly 98% of votes counted in the second round of the presidential race held on Sunday, Ms Sandu had obtained 54% of the total votes, according to the website of the country’s Central Electoral Commission. This compared

It’s 13 December 2023. Excited reports of a “landmark” global climate agreement reverberate around the world from the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. At around 11am, weary diplomats with circles under their eyes from fierce, all-night negotiations cheer, cry and hug. The US’s climate envoy John Kerry throws his arms around German foreign minister Annalena

Israel claims it has captured a senior Hezbollah operative after conducting a seaborne raid in northern Lebanon early on Friday. The “special operation” in the coastal town of Batroun marks the first time Israel has acknowledged deploying troops that far north during its current campaign against Hezbollah. “The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory

Moscow has warned the US it should take Russia’s nuclear warnings seriously to avoid World War Three. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council and who served as the country’s president from 2008 to 2012, warned the US on Saturday it was “wrong” to believe “that the Russians will never cross a certain line”.

India has officially protested against the Canadian government’s allegation linking President Modi’s right-hand man to alleged plots against Sikh separatists.  Relations between the two countries have been tense for more than a year after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were credible allegations the Indian government had links to the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep

The King and Queen have said they are “utterly heartbroken” by the loss of life in Spain, where the number of people killed by floods has reached at least 211. King Charles wrote to Spain’s King Felipe offering his condolences for the “tragic loss of so many lives” following what has been described as Spain’s

The world’s largest captive crocodile has died in Australia. He was thought to be more than 110 years old. Cassius, the 5.48m (18ft) reptile, also weighed over a ton. Image: Pic: Reuters He had lived in a wildlife sanctuary on Green Island near the Queensland tourist town of Cairns in Australia for more than 37

“We sat in the yard from 8am to 5pm under the sun with no water or food.” Sixteen-year-old Mohammed* was separated from his mother by Israeli forces as his family tried to flee northern Gaza. Mohammed’s mother was taken to a “sandy pit” with other women and children and sat in the heat for hours

Google has reportedly racked up a fine of more than two undecillion rubles – two followed by 36 zeros – after it removed state-run and pro-government accounts from YouTube. Put another way, an undecillion is a trillion times a trillion times a trillion. The fine is far greater than the world’s total GDP, estimated at

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has said he hopes a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel will be announced “within hours”. Najib Mikati made the comments after speaking to US envoy Amos Hochstein. According to Israeli broadcaster Kan, which published details of Lebanon’s proposed draft, it would see Israeli forces pull out within seven days of

England rugby star Joe Marler has caused controversy after branding New Zealand’s pre-match haka “ridiculous” and saying it “needs binning”. The 34-year-old prop deactivated his X account following his comments over the All Blacks’ tradition – before later returning to social media and claiming he was “just having a bit of fun”. England are set

Russia is carrying out a new nuclear training exercise, President Vladimir Putin has said. Speaking to military leaders by video call, Mr Putin declared there would be “another exercise of strategic deterrence forces” on Tuesday – two weeks after the last. The previous drill took place on 18 October in Tver, northwest of Moscow, using