Photograph: Brendan GleesonA case against a retired superintendent and four gardaí centres around motorists allegedly asking gardaí to intervene in potential or pending road traffic prosecutions, jurors have heard. The five accused are alleged to have been involved in attempts to quash potential or pending road traffic prosecutions against motorists in the midwest region. We don’t like it, but that is the system and we take it”, Mr Hanahoe said. Mr Hanahoe said the prosecution’s case centres on the seizure and analysis of the phones of the accused. In one of the charges, it is alleged Mr O’Neill advised a motorist to nominate another person as having been the driver of the vehicle for the suspected road traffic offence.

The cost of any licence cannot be passed on to consumers as retailers have no discretion as to the price they charge for tobacco products. Photograph: Bryan O'BrienA retailers group has claimed in the High Court that the then-Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly introduced exorbitant new licensing fees for selling tobacco products which were just “plucked out of the air”. Under the new licensing system, due to come into operation next February, retailers will have to pay a total fee of €1,800 to sell tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products, or €1,000 for tobacco alone or €800 for nicotine products alone. The cost of any licence cannot be passed on to consumers as retailers have no discretion as to the price they charge for tobacco products. The minister denies the claims and said it has been government policy over many years to disincentivise retailers from selling tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products.

Behavioural addictions to porn watching, gambling, shopping and other activities often arise out of trauma, loneliness and distraction, says expertAn increasing number of men are seeking treatment for an addiction to watching porn, which has resulted in “carnage” in their personal lives and relationships, a treatment service leader has said. The trend is mostly among men, with 80 per cent of referrals in this cohort, he said. This is persistence with the behaviour in face of adverse consequences,” Prof O’Gara“The porn product is actually toxic. It’s usually carnage.”Prof O’Gara said behavioural addictions to porn watching, gambling, shopping and other activities often arise out of trauma, loneliness and distraction. Photograph: Marc O'SullivanProf O’Gara was speaking at the 35th annual research conference held on Tuesday by St John of God Research Foundation, which highlighted concerns around behavioural addiction among the Irish public.

Counsel for the NMBI said the nurse had failed to respect the privacy and dignity of the patient and his family. Stock photograph: Getty ImagesA nurse has admitted to professional misconduct for taking a photo of a surgical team carrying out an organ retrieval procedure in an operating theatre and later posting it on social media. Counsel for the NMBI, barrister William Martin-Smith, said the nurse had also failed to respect the privacy and dignity of the patient and his family. It heard that the photo from the operating theatre with the caption “organ retrieval” allowed one male theatre nurse to be identified, although emojis covered the faces of other staff. Mr Martin-Smith said the photos were taken down from social media within nine hours of the nurse being asked to remove them.

Aviva Ireland has renewed its naming rights deal for the Aviva Stadium for five years with the IRFU and the FAI. At the announcement were Irish rugby internationals Joe McCarthy and Brittany Hogan and Irish football internationals John Egan and Jamie FinnInsurance company Aviva has renewed its naming rights deal for the Aviva Stadium in Ballsbridge, Dublin for another five years, in an agreement with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Speaking to The Irish Times, Declan O’Rourke, CEO of Aviva Insurance Ireland described the naming rights deal as an “iconic sponsorship” for Aviva, with 98 per cent awareness of the rights deal among its customers here. David Courell, CEO of the FAI, said the extension of the rights agreement was “hugely positive” for Irish football. In the past 15 years, Aviva Stadium has hosted more than 350 major events attended by over 11.5 million people.

Cliff Taylor looks at a new report from the Department of Finance and how Ireland's younger generation may end up with end up paying higher taxes.

Irish is not only a living vessel of our culture and history, but an official and working language of the EU. If anything, visitors to the Áras ought to be more inclined to question the absence of the Irish language than its presence in the home of the Irish president. When we speak the old tongue again, Ireland will be herself once more.”Mollie Guidera is an Irish language educator, author of The Gaeilge Guide, and founder of Irish with Mollie (www.irishwithmollie.com)Scroll to the bottom for an Irish language translate of this contributionAidan Doyle: No. Ní hamháin gur soitheach beo ár gcultúir agus ár staire í an Ghaeilge, ach is teanga oifigiúil agus oibre de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh í freisin. An Ghaeilge agus í mar phríomhtheanga an Árais, is bua siombalach agus éacht praiticiúil é sin in éineacht.

Photograph: Henrik Egede-Lassen/Zoomedia/PA WireData critical for tracking weather systems affecting Ireland is incomplete, but the body tasked with gathering it is facing a funding crisis, the Cop30 climate summit heard. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) warned that the loss of the US as a key funder was putting its work in jeopardy. That work includes improving understanding of the increasingly volatile Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the system of ocean currents responsible for keeping Ireland’s climate unusually mild for a country positioned so far north. Opinions differ on how dramatically and how soon the change could happen and GCOS members warned more data was urgently needed. “It’s taking essential data from deep in the ocean to the top of the atmosphere and everything in between,” he said.

Cliff Taylor looks at a new report from the Department of Finance and how Ireland's younger generation may end up with end up paying higher taxes.

Cliff Taylor looks at a new report from the Department of Finance and how Ireland's younger generation may end up with end up paying higher taxes.

Photograph: Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty ImagesOn Friday, the Abbey Theatre will host a symposium on the current state of arts criticism. The keynote address on Friday, from The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar, will ask whether the art of criticism is facing a crisis. The traditional review format remains useful for some artforms but sits awkwardly with others. The traditional review, with its blend of description, verdict and a bit of history, still has a place, but a less prominent one. At the same time, the traditional review, despite all the obituaries, retains a grip on the imagination in a way arid academic analysis never will.

Police in India investigating the car explosion outside Delhi’s historic Red Fort that killed eight people are focusing on the final movements of the vehicle involved. The Delhi police commissioner, Satish Golcha, said the explosion happened after a “slow-moving vehicle” stopped at a red light outside the Red Fort metro station. Photograph: Elke Scholiers/Getty ImagesIn a speech on Tuesday, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said those responsible would be brought to justice. Then I saw car parts flying and scattered body parts,” he said. Delhi police said they had filed a case under India’s draconian anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Both the Vatican and the Spanish Catholic Church have begun investigations into the claims against the bishop. Photograph: Laurie Chamberlain/GettyA bishop is being investigated over allegations of sexual abuse in the first case of its kind in Spain. Mr Zornoza, who became bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta in 2011, has not given a personal response to the allegations. However, it is the first time that a bishop in Spain has been investigated following allegations of abuse. A 2023 public inquiry held by the ombudsman estimated that up to 440,000 Spaniards had suffered sexual abuse linked to the Catholic Church.

Firefighters douse a car at the site of a suicide bombing in Islamabad on Tuesday. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesPakistan has accused India of pursuing “state terrorism” after a suicide bombing killed at least 12 people outside a judicial complex in its capital Islamabad. Pakistan and India have long accused each other of supporting terrorists and separatist groups on their territories. Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday afternoon suggested Afghanistan’s Taliban government was to blame for the bombing. New Delhi and Kabul both deny any involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, and accuse Islamabad of using allegations of such involvement as a pretext to destabilise both nations.

Court Service figures show recent increases in the use of the poor box and the avoidance of convictions with accompanying penalty points. Penalty points were introduced through the 2002 Road Traffic Act. Following the 2014 ruling, then minister for transport Leo Varadkar confirmed the judgment “was circulated by the president of the District Court to all District Courts”. In 2022, 133 drivers avoided a court conviction with penalty point punishment by instead giving a charity donation. “The attention of judges of the District Court has been drawn to this from time to time,” he added.