In The News

On Sunday, authorities in Mexico attempted to capture the notorious cartel boss known as “El Mencho”. They tracked Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes down to a cabin in the western state of Jalisco – his stronghold – and he was fatally wounded in the raid. The firefight also killed several of his heavily-armed accomplices, including his likely successor. He was head of the Jalisco New Generation Car...

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona, home on January 31st when her son-in-law dropped her off there after an evening at her daughter’s house nearby. She lived alone. Just hours later it is believed she was abducted from her home, her disappearance reported by friends the following day when she failed to show up for a church service. As the daughter of Savannah Guthrie, presenter of...

Former British prince Andrew's fall from grace continued last week with his arrest as part of an investigation into whether he abused power by sharing confidential information with his friend Jeffrey Epstein. Up to now the scrutiny of Andrew's relationship with the notorious Epstein has focussed on allegations of sexual exploitation. But this affair has shifted the focus onto Andrew's conduct whil...

What started as a one-man play about the life and times of Gerry Hutch became a two-hander this week when, in a curtain-raising surprise, Hutch himself appears on stage to deliver a prologue . Rex Ryan premiered his play The Monk – called after the widely used nick-name of his subject – last summer but for its second outing it moved to a much larger Dublin venue, The Ambassador, for a weeklong run...

The Geran-2 is a deadly weapon; a drone bomb that can be launched from thousands of kilometres away and yet hit its target with precision accuracy. Low cost and easy to make, this winter it has become a key weapon in Russia’s armoury as it pummels Ukraine, causing hundreds of deaths and cutting off energy supply. And a key component in the Geran-2 design is a chip manufactured years ago by Taoglas...

The tip-off that led the Garda to begin a major search for the bodies of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob is likely not new according to crime and security editor Conor Lally. The piece of land on the border of counties Wicklow and Kildare has been in the Garda’s sights for many years but since the disappearance of the young women, missing since the 1990s, are now considered murders, ongoing review...

Belfast man James O’Neill, or Jim as he was known, led an unconventional life. He was according to his family a highly intelligent man in his 40s who lived nomadically, sometimes sleeping rough, moving between cities. His body found was found in Dublin’s Phoenix Park in November 2023 but his parents, Paul and Ann O’Neill were not informed of their son’s death until 13 months later. That’s because...

Ultra-processed foods are irresistible – they’re made that way. The food manufacturers that dominate our supermarket shelves are constantly looking for ways to make us buy (and that means eat) more. And to find cheaper ingredients. But isn’t just about everything in our diet, apart from fresh fruit and vegetables, processed in some way? So why has ultra-processed food become the focus of so much c...

The Jeffrey Epstein files reveal the convicted child sex offender was fascinated by magicians, and detail a years-long relationship between Epstein and David Blaine as well as an FBI investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by David Copperfield. Since the files were released by the US department of justice two weeks ago, Irish Times journalist Naomi O’Leary has been combing through the documen...

For Alexander Abnos, senior sports editor at the Guardian US “removing the US as World Cup host would be eminently sad – and entirely justified”. The 2026 Fifa World Cup will be hosted this summer by Mexico, Canada and the US. But the killings by Ice agents of US citizens and their intimidatory presence on city streets has been well reported globally which may make travelling fans nervous. And tha...

The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts: In The News and Early Edition. This survey  is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition – whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past . On Monday, British prime minister Keir Starmer survived a day that could have ended his political career. The momentum against...

Teacher Enoch Burke has been in and out of court – and of prison – over his refusal to stay away from the school he once worked for. His legal challenges have clogged up the courts, but he is also involved in another process – an appeal against his dismissal before a disciplinary appeal panel. Last month that panel fell apart when two of its three members stood down. But the courts need the discip...

On the night of his second birthday in May 1991, Seamus Daniel Howell’s mother Lesley was murdered by his father, Colin Howell, and his father’s lover, Hazel Stewart. The pair also killed Stewart’s husband Trevor Buchanan. They left the two bodies in a garage in Castlerock, Co Derry, staging the scene to make it look as if they had taken their own lives. The pair had committed the perfect murder s...

There’s a rough rule of thumb when it comes to paying to dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant: stars cost around €100 each. That’s according to Irish Times restaurant reviewer Corinna Hardgrave, who explains what it takes for a restaurant to win a Michelin star and what it means for them when they do. Ireland has 18 one-star and five two-star restaurants – but no three stars. For the first time t...

The US justice department has made public more than three million pages of records related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein - and the fallout has dominated global headlines. Much of the content was redacted, sparking accusations of a cover-up designed to protect US president Donald Trump, although authorities claim they were protecting victims. Just what is contained in them – and who is name...

‘Melania’, the documentary about US first lady Melania Trump, took in an estimated $7m when it hit US cinema screens at the weekend making it the highest debut by a non-music documentary or concert film in more than a decade.  These are the sort of figures other documentaries can only dream of, so it’s a hit?  Far from it says Irish Times journalist Hugh Linehan who points out that it co...

“I don’t love you and I can’t be with someone out of pity,” Bruna Fonseca (28), a Brazilian woman living in Cork, texted her ex-boyfriend Miller Pacheco (32) on December 18th, 2022. Two weeks later, on New Year’s Day, 2023, gardaí would discover her body in Pacheco’s apartment. She had been strangled. At Pacheco’s trial for her murder at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, this and many other text...

On Thursday, a judge in a Belfast court lifted an injunction that would have prevented Michael Flatley’s involvement in the Lord of the Dance show, due to begin in Dublin next week before a multi-date international tour. The Chicago-born dancer was lead performer and choreographer of Riverdance, the 1994 Eurovision interval show that introduced a new, high octane, modern form of Irish dancing to t...

Most people who heard the weather forecasts at the weekend that mentioned Storm Chandra will not have expected the devastation it was to bring on Monday and Tuesday.  The east coast was hit hardest. Homes were flooded that had never flooded before, rivers burst their banks, road and rail closures caused traffic chaos and businesses were forced to close.  Some of the areas worst hit by th...

When news emerged at the weekend that one of China's most decorated generals had been purged, rumours swirled around Beijing.  The official line was that Zhang Youxia, and later another top general, had been ousted from their jobs due to “serious violations of discipline and law”.  That is widely understood as code for corruption but no more details were forthcoming.  This led to sp...

In the three weeks since Donald Trump sent thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, to the state of Minnesota, and its capital city, Minneapolis, over 3000 people have been detained suspected of being illegal immigrants. But there’s strong local opposition in this liberal city. When agents appear in a neighbourhood, protests begin and that’s putting ordinary people into conta...

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is the most zealous supporter of the MAGA agenda. That much is expected from a Trump administration insider, but Miller is much more that a suit in the background. He is the aide tasked with turning even the most vaguely thought-through policy announced by the US president into action – and he relishes the job. To understand just why ICE is so bruta...

ADHD is commonly characterised by traits like impulsivity, difficulty regulating emotions, and difficulty maintaining focus. But mounting research suggests adults and adolescents with the condition are far more likely to develop substance addiction. Rates of diagnoses for ADHD have been soaring in recent years and addiction programmes in Ireland report high numbers of people with ADHD seeking help...

Donald Trump's address at the World Economic Forum made the headlines yesterday as the US president appeared to rule out using force to take over Greenland. But It was Tuesday's speech by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney that may be remembered in the long run. Carney’s used his address to tell allies that the "rules-based international order" is over and that "middle powers" like Canada and the...

If anyone thinks that the rioters who caused mayhem and destruction on the streets of Dublin in November 23rd, 2023 were a well-organised group motivated by strongly-held ideology, think again. Of the 99 people arrested in connection with the Dublin riots, 82 have been charged with offences which range from attacking a garda and setting fire to a bus to stealing cigarettes and trainers. The unprec...