Sunday 18 October 2026Lunchtime (Europe/Dublin)
DailyBotThe lunchtime paper
Lunchtime edition
17 stories
Protests have spread to Lisbon and Milan as housing and living costs bite: hundreds at a Lisbon tent camp demand action, while Giorgia Meloni says a march in Italy was exploited by hooligans.
Europe live: arrests over the France protests rise to 1,800, with whole streets in Paris 'devastated' in the country's worst unrest in years.
Nationwide protests in France against high prices and fraying public services, following calls on social media to revive the gilets jaunes movement that emerged in 2018.
Revealed: French police used UK-funded 4x4 vehicles to charge at protesters; the French government has launched an investigation into why cars funded by the UK to stop Channel crossings were used in school protests.
In pictures: 'If we burn, you burn' - hundreds arrested as tens of thousands take to the streets across France to demonstrate against rising fuel prices and the cost of living.
A 'serious incident' at an Alberta military base has caused deaths and injuries, with patients taken to hospitals in Edmonton and Wainwright completely overwhelmed, a local doctor says.
'I felt disgusted': MEP Lena Schilling of the Austrian Greens speaks out over nude deepfakes, calling the images digital violence against women and a threat to democracy.
Intensifying drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea bring the war ever closer to NATO waters: six attacks in 10 days by suspected Russian drones mark a dramatic escalation.
Trump's pause on Russia sanctions is a 'reward' for Putin, Zelensky says, warning it will embolden the Russian leader and intensify the war as Moscow hits Ukraine's power plants.
Ukraine war briefing: Trump's sanctions waiver is a '60-day pause', and Zelenskyy expects Trump to lift more sanctions against Russia. What we know on day 1,698.
Israeli settlers have attacked European diplomats in the West Bank - a French mayor and an archbishop among them - during a violent attempt to stop Palestinians harvesting olives.
Zack Polanski says the application of Zionism is racist and antisemitic; the Green leader in England and Wales calls debates about words unhelpful and denies a recent motion was controversial.
'I cannot carry all of this alone': the couples kept apart by the war in Ukraine - families scattered, fathers separated from their children, couples unable to reunite and marry.
Pope Leo is to gradually resume papal activities since the removal of a cancer, thanking people for their prayers in his first public appearance since the operation on his lung.
The World Bank says 'small AI' could transform developing countries, its chief knowledge officer saying the tech could speed up economic development from centuries to decades.
Japan is to launch a world-first mission to collect samples from Mars's moon Phobos, a five-year mission the Japanese space agency calls one of the most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system.
An extraordinary life: a descendant welcomes a biography of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the girl captured by an African king and taken to England to become protege of Queen Victoria.
14 stories
A man has died after a fatal assault in Dublin; gardai discovered the man with serious injuries on the footpath at Blackhorse Place in the north of the city.
Met Eireann is scrambling to save the amateur weather watchers' network: about 150 private weather stations nationwide feed into the Wow platform, which the UK will soon close.
Mark Zuckerberg drinks a pint wrong, leaving his Irish reputation in tatters - plus stamp duty slip-ups, literature on the high seas and a Star Wars-related accident.
A US snapshot of Donald Trump's hunger for adulation that has dragged America low: in Doug Mills' photo, Trump is in a cozy huddle with his most essential type of staff member.
'People are afraid it will happen again': hundreds protest the lack of flood defences in Midleton, where Storm Babet caused up to 200m euro in damage to businesses and homes in 2023.
A mother alleges her addict son threatened to burn the house down and kill her; she is among several parents seeking barring orders against adult children with substance abuse problems.
The public pay deal must give most to those who are really squeezed: younger workers contending with high rents and housing costs.
Ask Roe: 'My partner and I have a beautiful bond but we are opposed on this one issue - with this single issue there doesn't appear to be any compromise.'
Dublin residents are protesting against the rezoning of land owned by Johnny Ronan; councillors previously rejected changing the zoning of sites at St Edmundsbury, Finnstown Castle and Coldcut Road.
The health service spent 250m euro more on 'higher-cost' agency staff than directly employed staff, the HSE has told the Public Accounts Committee, with agency hires costing about 40% more.
Rite & Reason: the 'Irish pope' who was equally disliked by Irish patriots and Protestants - when Clonliffe was sold, Cardinal Cullen's remains had to be moved quickly and discreetly.
A food delivery site that promises to deliver no food? At first it's a joke - then bleak, when you realise one of your favourite pastimes is the unrequited scroll.
Andrew Scott could be unbeatable at the Oscars. Unless this happens: Academy Award nerds are already engraving the Elsinore star's name on the best-actor trophy.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee: what will you do with a perfect six-pack in an empty life? On junk connections, biohacking and why people need to trust themselves.
14 stories
SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone has called for an urgent meeting with BBC NI leadership after the corporation announced plans to cut its Irish language staff by more than half.
Regeneration of the Crumlin Road Gaol's historic cottages is to be 'explored' - the row of 16 grade B listed properties was built in 1927.
A man and woman are in court on charges related to the fatal Waterford arson attack; the funeral for the four victims is due to take place on Monday.
Julian Simmons: 'I want to squeeze as much out of life as possible' - Leona O'Neill chats to the broadcasting legend about how childhood tragedy shaped his show-must-go-on mindset.
Employees were left shaken after a man armed with a knife stole cash from a licensed premises in the Ormeau Road area at around 8.05pm on Saturday evening.
Volunteers have taken on a rescue mission after animals were abandoned at a Newcastle sanctuary - dead animals left decomposing in a Co Down river, birds reportedly harassed by youths.
'It's important to be connected to where you come from': meet Raices NI, founded by a group of mothers from Spain in 2022.
My 140-mile food trip through Co Down: Sophie Clarke explores the cafes, farm shops and local producers on a two-day trip, baking bread and enjoying some memorably delicious meals.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson has called for the full picture over Drumcree, saying transparency is key to understanding the decisions taken around the contentious parade.
Pat McArt: John Wayne would feel right at home in Trump's America - right now it seems America under Trump is all about projecting cruelty as strength, and decency or compassion as weakness.
Hilary Swank wore a cardigan from Northern Irish designer Hope Macaulay on The Drew Barrymore Show.
'Painting and music have always gone hand-in-hand for Brian': the work of artist Brian McDonagh has been awarded The Irish News prize at the 145th Royal Ulster Academy Arts exhibition.
The BBC has cut the award-winning comedy radio show A Perforated Ulster.
Remembering Adrian Fox: 'His poems enrich our culture immeasurably' - born in England and brought up in north Belfast, he became a one-person hub for poetry in the north Armagh area.
34 stories
Comment: Jeffrey Donaldson's incessant trips to the developing world - constant foreign missions, luxury travel and paedophilia, and how his hidden overseas career raises dark questions.
Jeffrey Donaldson 'cried himself to sleep' after sentencing; the paedophile ex-politician is set for transfer to Magilligan Prison once the dust on his sentence settles.
The DUP is facing huge pressure to collapse Stormont as the Drumcree row deepens, with a court challenge over the Garvaghy Road parade ban to hear a police assessment that the Provos are still operational.
Alexander Skarsgard stays away from social media opinions.
Reform admits 'errors' as police assess whether election spending rules were broken.
'The worst sinners still need prayer': a shamed ex-Tory MP turned Anglican priest tells how he sent a 'message of hope' letter to paedophile Jeffrey Donaldson.
A man (41) has been held after one of Northern Ireland's largest drug seizures: a PSNI raid on a van in Lisburn uncovered 2.4m pounds of the drug.
Exclusive: Jeffrey Donaldson's MoD role in Cameroon's Anglophone crisis, with luxury trips, fees and soft power influence revealed in a Belfast Telegraph investigation.
Jeffrey Donaldson's victims speak out for the first time: the two women reveal how they overheard strangers discussing their abuse in hairdressers and coffee shops.
Inside the courtroom as Donaldson's catastrophic fall played out: a paedophile who once had the ear of prime ministers and presidents.
All you need to know as Donaldson is to walk free from prison in seven-and-a-half years, the Lady Chief Justice's office confirms.
Sisters are great... they give you their honest opinion: the siblings bringing tinting from the salon to the bathroom.
With dinner party panic like this, no wonder we're eating alone: a survey shows the share of people who have family or friends round at least once a month has fallen over 70% since 1975.
Gone but not forgotten: 30 of Northern Ireland's lost restaurants - from greasy spoons to gourmet cuisine, Ivan Little goes on a culinary trip down memory lane.
Loyalist community worker Gareth Beacom, a former employee of scandal-hit charity Charter NI which worked closely with the UDA, is due in court accused of a loyalist feud offence.
How MLAs traded insults during a three-hour debate before the no-confidence votes, none of which received cross-community support.
Live coverage of the Drumcree dispute as a DUP delegation meets the PSNI chief and the party demands full transparency.
The DUP could be the biggest losers from Drumcree as a new political climate emerges, with the parading row heading back to court.
Chris Bryant rejects claims he bowed to mob rule over the Drumcree parade decision.
Why a Co Down gym boss once dubbed Ireland's fittest man is leading a challenge: volunteers hope to cover one million metres on stationary cardio machines in 10 hours to raise money for dementia research.
Dear Mary: a dear friend has recently started talking in ways consumed by online hate and racism - compassionate advice on setting boundaries, protecting yourself and coping with a changed friendship.
'He's the smartest person I've ever communicated with': Belfast actor Anthony Boyle just can't stop playing bad boys.
Opinion: the only person in the world to publicly support Jeffrey Donaldson; he and Jonathan Aitken have plenty in common after decades in Westminster's corridors of power.
NI airport ground staff used an internal system for underhand practice, with Swissport saying it took all appropriate action during its investigation.
A Belfast family searches for answers after their mother, who had dementia, was allegedly assaulted inside a care home; a doctor said it significantly contributed to her declining health before her death.
How Eddie Coll became Northern Ireland's longest-serving prisoner under the two strikes law, and now speaks from prison.
A stripper-loving former TUV election candidate who defaced statues of Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney has been stunned by the reaction to his loyalist vandalism.
Sinn Fein distances itself from calls for a memorial, after the lord mayor was pictured holding a portrait of Larry Kennedy, who was gunned down by the UDA in 1981.
The 10 top-grossing films in Northern Ireland this year, as the NI cinema industry heads for its most successful year since before the pandemic.
Belfast-born Stranger Things theatre star Louis McCartney 'unleashes the animal', revealing his intense approach to playing teen killer James opposite David Tennant in a BBC prison drama.
Jeffrey Donaldson is to be questioned behind bars by Met Police over an allegation he sexually assaulted a woman in his House of Commons office in 2016.
Paedophile Jeffrey Donaldson will be under threat every day of his sentence in Maghaberry jail, a former governor of the Maze prison has warned.
Velvety butterbean sauce, risotto-style orzo and fresh fish: sourcing good locally caught fish on an island, with a few fishmongers leading the way.
'It's a sad day': a fresh blow for local comedy as co-writer Tim McGarry, who has also lost Give My Head Peace and The Blame Game, says the BBC has basically cut everything we've ever done.