RAF Typhoon jets successfully took out two drones overnight, one over Jordan, the second heading to Bahrain, the Defence Secretary has said. John Healey delivered a statement to Parliament on the unfolding crisis in the Middle East after Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs the Iran conflict is likely to "put upward pressure" on inflation in the coming months. She said the UK energy system was more secure than it was before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, meaning consumers are better protected from shocks. And she said the energy price cap coming into force in April will shield people from bill hikes. It comes oil prices rocketed above $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly four years as the escalating conflict in Iran sparks a mounting crude supply crisis.

Emma Raducanu suffered a disappointing defeat in just 52 minutes against Amanda Anisimova on Sunday, crashing out at Indian Wells in the third round. The British No 1 was well short of her best as she fell 6-1 6-1 to Anisimova, winning just 11 points in the first set and falling 3-0 behind in the second before managing to hold her serve. 'If I'm not feeling it, that gap feels more evident in terms of weight of shot, in terms of power. Today I could let it get me down if I wanted to, but overall I think the days have been better than not.' Meanwhile, victorious Anisimova said during an on-court interview after the match: 'I think I can be very pleased with my performance today.

Denis Staunton's guide to understanding world events - what’s happening, why it matters and how it affects youChina condemns the United States’s war on Iran as illegal and wants it to stop immediately. But Beijing will not let the war get in the way of Donald Trump’s visit later this month. “Seeing the Middle East engulfed in flames, I want to say that this is a war that should not have happened. More important than any of China’s ties in the Middle East is the opportunity for a reset of its economic and military relationship with the US under Trump. Creating parallel structures outside the UN, or worse still, putting together various exclusive blocs and circles is unpopular and unsustainable.”

Donald Trump has urged Australia to avoid 'a terrible humanitarian mistake' by potentially allowing the Iranian women's soccer team to return to their home country. Writing on X, Pahlavi added: 'These five courageous athletes, currently in a safe location, have announced that they have joined Iran's national Lion and Sun Revolution.' The Iranian women's competition came to an end on Sunday night when they were beaten 2-0 by the Philipppines in Queensland. After the match, around 200 protestors surrounded the team bus, banging on it and chanting 'let them go' as police pushed the crowd back. Join the debate Should Australia grant asylum to the Iranian soccer players?

Lemanaghan wind farm opponents described as "small group"Opposition to plans for the construction of a wind farm on the historic landscape of Lemanaghan bog in West Offaly is coming from a "small group" according to documents lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála as part of a pre-application consultation process between the proposers of the project and the State planning board. Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group has spearheaded a vigorous campaign of opposition to plans for the construction of the wind farm by Bord na Móna and SSE Renewables, and have received strong backing from the local community and also from a number of elected representatives. Also discussed at that meeting were traffic and cultural heritage. On the issue of cultural heritage, the meeting was told that “some monuments have been removed” and a list of those that remain on site is available. Members of the group have staged a number of peaceful protests outside public consultation events relating to the Lemanaghan Wind Farm project.

CIACLA presents the best in Irish cinema through a three-day celebration of contemporary Irish film in Santa Monica Los Angeles. We’re looking forward to welcoming audiences for three days of film, conversation, and connection with a program that reflects the confidence and ambition of Irish cinema right now.” — Festival Director Matthew NevinSANTA MONICA, CA, UNITED STATES, March 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Irish Film Festival Los Angeles opens March 20 and runs through March 22 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. Presented by CIACLA, the three-day festival brings a broad selection of contemporary Irish cinema to Los Angeles audiences, including six feature films, three feature documentaries, and more than 30 short films across four curated programmes. Across four curated strands of short films — New Voices, The Auteurs, The Futures, and The Contemporaries — the festival presents more than 30 short films. Through film, visual arts, music, literature, and community programming, CIACLA creates platforms for contemporary Irish voices in Los Angeles and beyond.

Petrol and diesel prices rose again over the weekend as the cost of oil continued to spike. Oil prices today soared to a four-year high of nearly $120 a barrel on the back of the deepening Middle East war. After hitting $119 a barrel, it later eased to around $108 a barrel. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will join an emergency meeting of G7 finance ministers later today to discuss oil prices. US President Donald Trump has said the price hikes are a “a very small price to pay” for world peaceFollow our live blog below for the latest updates

A Daily Mail article that reported the then-head of the Special Intelligence Service (MI6/SIS), along with his wife and disgraced former royal Andrew, dining with serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein – after Epstein was convicted of paedophilia – has disappeared from the Mail’s website. Why did the head of MI6, Sir John Sawers attend a dinner with Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew at Epstein’s New York townhouse, after Epstein had been convicted of child sex abuse? We need answers pic.twitter.com/vf9zcSP20k — Jon Harding (@_i0n) February 19, 2026Screenshot saved here in case the original X post is deleted. Epstein meeting article seems to disappearHowever, the url for that article – https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2894345/Head-MI6-dined-paedophile-billionaire-Jeffrey-Epstein-s-townhouse-Prince-Andrew-massage-girl-friend.html – now routes to an anodyne article about billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicles. Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli spy as well as serial rapist and trafficker or children and young women, and almost certainly even worse.

Casemiro U-turn pleaOne United star who is almost certainly bidding farewell come the end of this season is Casemiro. View 3 Images Casemiro will depart upon the expiration of his contract (Image: Getty)Robson told BoyleSports: "I would encourage Casemiro to stay. He's had a really good season this year. He's a really good passer of the ball. "People see what you're really good at.

The daughter of former Premier League footballer Hermann Hreidarsson has followed in his footsteps by making her debut for Iceland's national team. His 23-year-old daughter, Ida Marin Hermannsdottir, made her first senior appearance against Spain last Tuesday before featuring again during Iceland's 2-0 defeat by England on Saturday. The former defender, 51, was in attendance at the City Ground to watch Ida Marin in action as she played 63 minutes of the match. The Premier League cult hero became manager of Valur in 2025, shortly after his daughter's departure to FH. He won the Icelandic League Cup during his first season in charge.

A report on anti-Semitism in Ireland, released last week by the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, had some deeply distressing findings: 143 incidents were recorded over a six-month period ending in January 2026. Graffiti and vandalism are a common theme in the report, as are numerous vile, abusive and threatening emails sent directly to Irish Jews. But the largest demographic of anti-Semitic incidents receives no mention; the anti-Semitism where no Jews are present. The Government needs to implement the EU Strategy on Combating anti-Semitism and Fostering Jewish Life 2021-2030, as 17 other EU states have. My wife, who is not Jewish asks me periodically when we’ll know if it’s time to leave Ireland.

No clean delivery, or indeed any sort of delivery at all, was sent in Hayes’ direction for another 12 minutes. There was then another gap of 17 minutes before Hayes was again properly fed. “I'd be very happy with our progression through the last four games in particular, in terms of the improvements that we're seeing, incremental improvements,” said Kiely. Scorers for Cork: T O’Mahony (0-7, 0-5 frees, 0-1 ‘65); T O’Connell, B Hayes (0-3 each); B Walsh, S Barrett (0-2 each); E Downey, S Kingston, A Walsh (0-1 each). CORK: P Collins; E Roche, D O’Leary, G Millerick; M Mullins, E Downey, D Cahalane; C Joyce, T O’Connell; B Walsh, T O’Mahony, S Kingston; S Barrett, A Walsh, B Hayes.

University Hospital Limerick has started renting floor space at Bon Secours Limerick to alleviate periods of peak pressure. “I’m delighted to announce we've reached a service level agreement with University Hospital Limerick. As of this Monday morning, Mr Kenny said 13 patients transferred from UHL were being treated in Bon Secours. The official opening of Bon Secours Limerick, Ireland’s first new acute hospital in almost 20 years, took place on Monday, after a €213m investment. It's a big investment and a big undertaking.”Local TD and communications minister Patrick O’Donovan was also at the launch of Bon Secours Limerick.

I remember when bottles of water were first sold in shops, we thought it was ridiculous – only idiots would pay for something running freely from every tap. When we were thirsty, I said even more primly, we had a drink when we were next in a place with a water supply. But I wonder, were many people always thirsty, in the millenniums before water bottles? [ Why is everyone lugging huge water bottles about? But I am still not going to drink water unless I feel thirsty, and I am certainly not going to displace the knitting and notebook in my bag with a heavy bottle.

The chairs of the three national cultural institutions wrote to Minster for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan (pictured) in January to outline their concerns. Photograph: Bryan O’BrienThree national cultural institutions are struggling to pay their pension costs and have asked the Government to intervene. The chairs of the boards of the National Library of Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) said the situation is “an issue of considerable concern” which “ultimately impacts our capacity to deliver programmes”. Cathal O’Donoghue, chairperson of the National Museum; Ali Curran, chairperson of Imma, and Eoin McVey, chairperson of the National Library, wrote to Minster for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan in January to outline their concerns. “Every year we are faced with a difficult process of budget management to the year end in relation to pension lump sums and in the case of the National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland supplementing our pension costs with our pay allocations,” the letter stated.