New Zealand's Sevu Reece scores a try against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Photograph: David Davies/PAWales 26 New Zealand 52Tom Rogers became the first Wales player to score a hat-trick against New Zealand as the All Blacks maintained their dominance in the fixture with a 52-26 victory in Cardiff. It extended New Zealand’s winning run against Wales to 34 games – a sequence stretching back to 1953. Robertson’s selection had led to accusations that New Zealand were taking Wales lightly but were on the scoreboard within five minutes. Wales refused to lie down and within two minutes of the restart Rogers had secured his place in the record books.

A Christmas Carol: Lloyd Hutchinson, Wren Dennehy, Michael Tient, Emmet Kirwan and Fiona Bell. Photograph: Ros KavanaghWe are in Victorian England, and Mr Scrooge is in his counting house on a freezing Christmas Eve. [ The Gate’s Christmas Carol: ‘It’s a different proposition to panto. Some will wonder if this Christmas Carol, with no Kermit or Mr Magoo, is really suitable for smaller children. A Christmas Carol is at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, until Sunday, January 18th

South Africa ran through them and ran over them and bludgeoned them with blunt force. After he was sent to the line, South Africa took every opportunity to prosecute their advantage. English referee Matthew Carley gestures in the match between South Africa and Ireland. They made one brief entry into the South Africa 22 shortly after half-time and didn’t return there until the closing minutes. In the last few minutes, that gap was closed and South Africa finally had a player sent to the bin.

A group of world leaders have jointly expressed concern over the “direction of travel” of US president Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. “The European position is to engage with that process and to continue to support Ukraine as it engages in discussions,” he said. There is to be a series of meetings on Sunday as well as ongoing engagement between European leaders, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and others. Taoiseach Micheál Martin, right, speaks with other world leaders at G20 Summit in South Africa. Asked if Mr Trump would listen to the position being put forward by European leaders, he said: “I think he will listen.

Tánaiste Simon Harris and Paschal Donohoe watching RTÉ's Six One News on Tuesday night in Donohoe's office in the Department of Finance. There was hardly a dry seat in the house as he spoke to his colleagues and friends for the final time as a TD. “My main word of thanks is to our party president, our Tánaiste, Simon Harris,” he said. “I am so proud and happy to be able to walk out of my old office in the Department of Finance and to see Simon Harris take over. Simon Harris and Paschal Donohoe watching the news on Tuesday night in Donohoe’s office in the Department of FinancePaschal invited him over and they watched the Six One News together.

Ireland 13 South Africa 24A pulsating, compelling, incident-packed and at times farcical tussle, dominated most of all by referee Matthew Carley and his officials. The battering in this set-piece led to a penalty try, two of Ireland’s four yellow cards, and contributed hugely to the whopping 18-13 penalty count in the Boks’ favour. While Feinberg-Mngomezulu avoided the bin for what looked like a cheap shot on Tommy O’Brien, Ireland incurred four yellow cards. With Beirne’s try to bring Ireland level denied, Andy Farrell’s side were to remain behind thereafter. Yellow cards: Prendergast (33 mins), Crowley (39), Porter (42), McCarthy (62),20-minute red card: Ryan (19 mins).

The answer will go a long way to determining whether Simon Harris regrets his decision to take the job of Minister for Finance. There is more than enough, in other words, to occupy a new finance minister. Another big budget surplus is in prospect despite a large State spending overrun of more than €4 billion. We have got used to spending growth of 8 or 9 per cent a year. Big investors here crave certainty and predictability and the Minister for Finance is seen as the key figure offering this.

Paul Costello established his name as a designer in Dublin in 1979 having trained at the Grafton Academy followed by a period in Paris and Milan. Celebrated for dressing Princess Diana and creating the uniforms of British Airways staff, Paul Costelloe rose to become one of Ireland’s most successful fashion designers. Easygoing, low-key but disciplined were words used to describe his clothes, which could also accurately describe his personality. Paul grew up with a stylish mother and four sisters which certainly had an influence on him. He is survived by his wife Anne (née Cooper) and their seven children, Robert, Gavin, Justin, Paul Emmet, William, Nicholas and daughter Jessica.

Cop30 President Andre Correa do Lago (centre) talks to Cop30 CEO Ana Toni (left) and advisers on the final day of the climate summit in Belem, Brazil. A lengthy standoff on the agreement around the text had delayed the close of the climate summit. The Paris Agreement is working, the transition away from fossil fuels agreed in Dubai (at the Cop28 talks in 2023) is accelerating. But after the leaders left and Cop30 formally began on Monday, November 10th, discussions among ministers and high-ranking officials degenerated into a bitter standoff. That too did not make it into the final agreement.

Understanding Irish politics at the end of 2025 requires acknowledging how much it has changed in the past decade and a half, and that it is likely to continue to change. I think the fairest verdict is that Donohoe was as prudent as Irish politics allowed – and certainly more prudent than any of the other possible alternatives. Is Simon Harris this person?Opens in new window ]Look back on the last election cycle for a perfect example of the rollercoaster that Irish politics has become. Most people in politics (not this columnist, though) assumed that a Sinn Féin-led government after the next election was inevitable. So we should learn from the recent history of these swings and roundabouts, and appreciate the huge level of unpredictability now inherent in Irish politics.

The restructuring wing of Teneo Ireland saw “accelerated growth” in 2024 as profits more than tripled from €1.2 million to €4 million on the back of a series of high-profile restructuring jobs. Best known in Ireland for its PR and management consultancy business, Teneo entered the UK restructuring service sector in 2021, acquiring Deloitte’s 250-person UK restructuring arm. Teneo Restructuring Ireland was then set up in August 2021, after hiring Damien Murran from accounting firm RSM to become its managing director. Mr Murran said the restructuring business’s results “reflect the continued investment in the business and accelerated growth over the past three years”. “Started from scratch” just five years ago, the business unit has “grown consistently” in recent years, Mr Murran said.

“I think because my era and my sensibility skew towards The Muppet Christmas Carol, it wasn’t daunting for me at all,” she says, laughing. I think that’s why you can multi-role across lots of different ages and genders, and that’s really playful and dynamic. The Muppets don’t daunt me.”A Christmas Carol is new territory for Kirwan, too. “I think it’s a different proposition to something like panto, or something like in the Bord Gáis. “Everybody’s working hard to make this moment special together.”A Christmas Carol is at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, until Sunday, January 18th

Hoppípolla – that is why the reporters invaded Martínez’s space after their huddle with the Republic of Ireland’s stoic Icelandic manager. Heimir Hallgrímsson would know all about Hoppípolla, the ethereal tune by his countrymen Sigur Rós. Coleman, he adds, is a “really, really, really big battery” for the Irish squad, “in so many ways”. Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and Séamus Coleman during Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Portugal at the Aviva Stadium last week. Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and his backroom staff celebrate Tory Parrott’s late goal to win last weekend's match against Hungary.

A mass abduction took place at Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School. Photograph: Christian Association of Nigeria/APMore than 300 children and 12 teachers have been abducted by gunmen during an attack on St Mary’s School in northcentral Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said. The kidnapping in Niger state’s remote Papiri community happened four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighbouring Kebbi state’s Maga town, 170km (106 miles) away. Organised atrocities against civilians punctuate Nigeria’s long history of ethnic discord, and Muslims as well as Christians have been victims. But the notion of Christians being singled out for persecution eventually took root in right-wing circles.

The late Eddie O'Connor, who set up Mainstream Renewable in 2008. [ Mainstream Renewable losses narrow to €325m on lower Chile chargesOpens in new window ]It wasn’t just Chile. Mainstream wasn’t helped by Aker Horizons shoving its existing risky offshore assets into the company in 2022. Røkke once envisioned Aker Horizons spinning off Mainstream through a stand-alone IPO in time, to unlock more value for his empire. Aker Horizons itself now faces near-certain liquidation, stripped of its business activities and down to the equivalent of less than €2 million in cash.