By Cate McCurry, PADozens of accommodation centres for Ukrainian refugees are set to close, the Taoiseach has said. Almost 70 contracts for Ukrainian refugee accommodation will expire “shortly”, according to Simon Harris. Dozens of accommodation centres for Ukrainian refugees are set to close, the Taoiseach has said. “If you do that you’re going to completely lose the people in this country, you’re going to see a breakdown in social cohesion. The Government has already reduced the social welfare payments for Ukrainian refugees who arrived after March from the job seekers’ rate of €232 to €38.80 per week.

Had the Leinster bus passed him at that very moment, Leo Cullen might have listened to what he had to say. They’d lost belief in the Leinster way that had been built by Michael Cheika and finessed by Joe Schmidt, Stuart Lancaster and Johnny Sexton. An innovator who challenged the way Leinster thought, popular, charismatic and a double World Cup winner; there was reason to invest heavily in his project. But what will gall Leinster fans the most about this loss is the price their attack has paid for those defensive advances. By next season, they’ll have added RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett to their ranks and Tyler Bleyendaal will be running their attack.

The state of emergency in New Caledonia that was imposed to quell deadly rioting will be lifted, the French presidency said, adding 480 gendarmes were being sent to the Pacific territory as reinforcements. Seven people have been killed in New Caledonia since riots over planned voting reforms erupted on May 13. In total, around 3,500 troops have been deployed to the archipelago, where two gendarmes died during the riots over planned voting reforms. Macron pledged during his lightning trip to New Caledonia that the planned voting reforms "will not be forced through". The FLNKS party reiterated on Saturday its demand for the withdrawal of the voting reforms after meeting with Macron.

Michael BoltonSemple Stadium has been chosen as the venue for the Munster hurling final between Limerick and Clare. After wins for both counties over the weekend, they will once again meet in the provincial decider, with Limerick defeating Clare in the opening round of the Munster championship. The final will take place on Sunday June 9th, the third Munster final in a row between the sides. Dublin's win over Galway and Kilkenny's win over Wexford means Wexford will be in the preliminary quarter-final, with Galway's season over. The winners of the provincial final will go straight to the All-Ireland semi-finals, with the runners-up to the quarter-finals.

Jonny Evans hopes Man Utd do not sack Erik ten Hag after FA Cup gloryBy Simon Peach, PA Chief Football WriterJonny Evans hopes Manchester United do not sack Erik ten Hag as the club consider the manager’s future following Saturday’s shock FA Cup final win against Manchester City. But there was no sign of distraction under the arch as Ten Hag’s side shocked neighbours City, with Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scoring in a 2-1 win that sealed FA Cup glory. “Obviously, the league position wasn’t great, but to be able to win the FA Cup is incredible.”Asked how the FA Cup win ranked among his career achievements, Evans said: “Incredible. The 19-year-old duo shone in the club’s FA Youth Cup triumph two years ago and were basking in the afterglow of goals in an FA Cup win. “Hopefully on the back of today, a bit of belief, winning the FA Cup.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up xAI has closed a $6 billion (€5.5 billion) funding round at a valuation of $18 billion, as investor fervour for new challengers to OpenAI continues unabated. Measured by capital raised, xAI now ranks alongside Anthropic, which has raised more than $8 billion since it was established in 2021. The deal gives xAI a so-called post-money valuation of $24 billion once the new investment is taken into account. During its fundraising, backers of Musk’s other ventures, including X and SpaceX, were given first refusal to back xAI, people familiar with the talks told the Financial Times last week. At the time, Musk said in a post on X: “xAI is not raising capital and I have had no conversations with anyone in this regard.” --Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024

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Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment Russian rockets strike a DIY hypermarket in Kharkiv in an attack that left at least 14 dead and many others wounded. A Russian source posted that this was not a regular DIY store but 'a military base with weapons. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said: 'The attack targeted the shopping centre, where there were many people - this is clearly terrorism.' Police body-cam footage of the first minutes after the attack shows salvage workers sifting through the debris for human remains. A hypermarket worker survived and was looking for his missing wife, a department head at the store.

The decision by three nations to endorse a Palestinian state won’t move Israelis. More than 140 countries and the Holy See have recognized the right of Palestinians to have a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. What is noteworthy about this move, though, is that major Western European countries, and the U.S., had resisted going there, arguing that peace should be worked out between the two parties. In the short-term, these diplomatic recognitions from fellow democracies will not move the Israeli public, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute. If that does not transpire, though, Israel is heading for a world of hurt.

Leinster SHC Round 5: Galway 1-24 Dublin 2-27Dublin came west and ended the season for their hosts, Galway. Twenty-six players scored – 14 Dublin and 12 from Galway. Donoghue wasn’t going to be drawn on how he, as a Galway man felt about it all but was delighted with Dublin’s progress. It’s a huge task in two weeks but I’m delighted we’re there.”Dublin: S Brennan; J Bellew (0-1), E O’Donnell (0-1), P Smyth (capt; 0-1); C Crummey (0-4), C Donohoe (0-1), P Doyle; B Hayes (0-1), C Burke (0-1); F Whiteley (0-1), D Burke (1-10, three frees, two 65s), D Sutcliffe (0-1); S Currie (1-0), D Purcell (0-1), R Hayes (0-1). Subs: C Mannion for Linnane (44 mins), J Glynn for Flynn (44 mins), T Monaghan (0-2) for Glynn (inj, 49 mins), D McLaughlin (1-0) for Lee (60 mins), R Glennon for C Fahy (67 mins).

Final scores:Limerick 0-30 Waterford 2-14Clare 1-24 Tipperary 0-24The final table:The #MunsterSHC Table after Round 5. Limerick 0-30 v 2-14 WaterfordTipperary 0-24 v 1-24 ClareLimerick and Clare will contest the Munster SHC Final. Next up at 4pm is Limerick v Waterford and Tipperary v Clare. Leinster Hurling ChampionshipAntrim v Carlow 2pm startGalway v Dublin 2pm startKilkenny v Wexford 2pm startMunster Hurling ChampionshipLimerick v Waterford 4pm startTipperary v Clare 4pm startAlmost everything remains up for grabs in what promises to be a small-ball Super Sunday in the fifth and final round of games in both the Munster and Leinster senior hurling championships. A draw or a win for Kilkenny over Wexford in Nowlan Park on Sunday would secure Kilkenny a spot in another provincial final – Kilkenny are aiming for a fifth successive Leinster title.

Erik ten Hag is waiting to discover if winning the FA Cup will be enough to save his job as Manchester United boss. Yet victory over City earned him a second trophy in two years and clinched a Europa League place. Several senior players have returned in recent games, which the 54-year-old has always maintained would improve United’s form. Despite winning the FA Cup, there is plenty of uncertainty over ten Hag's future at the club‘We didn’t have those players available,’ Ten Hag said at Wembley. It read: ‘We know how much this club means to so many people — in Manchester and around the world.

Sergio Perez walks away from horror crash on opening lap of Monaco Grand PrixBy Philip Duncan, PA F1 CorrespondentSergio Perez walked away unharmed from a staggering crash on the opening lap of the Monaco Grand Prix. The 78-lap race was immediately red flagged after Perez’s Red Bull hit the barrier as the field made their way up the hill from Sainte Devote. The Red Bull was destroyed on impact with all but one of the Mexican’s four wheels ripping off his car. Perez, who started 16th, walked way from the high-speed crash with debris scattered across the street track. The Mexican driver was sent into the wall after Kevin Magnussen’s front-left wheel made contract with the rear-right of Perez’s Red Bull.

Profile of a parkrunner: Meet GeraldineMeet Geraldine Mahon who has completed more than 30 parkruns as the designated volunteer “tailwalker”. What is your favourite parkrun memory? My favourite parkrun memory is when I saw my walking partner Rita Corcoran celebrate her 200th parkrun. What word best describes Mountlucas parkrun? It is such a peaceful environment, away from the hustle and bustle so I think peaceful is the word I would choose to describe Mountlucas parkrun.

All parties should commit to setting up a sovereign wealth fund in their election manifestos, a think tank has said. Lakshmi Narayanan, chairman of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI), believes the UK can 'easily' have a £395billion fund within three to five years. Narayanan said it is 'high time' for the UK to announce a sovereign wealth fund' and that a £395billion pool could be a boost for the London stock market. He added: 'Every political party should announce their intention to create a sovereign wealth fund and make it part of their first implementation plan. The Mail on Sunday last year reported Treasury officials explored the idea of setting up a sovereign fund.