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Poland’s top climate official said the country is preparing to set a date for a complete phase-out of coal-fired power generation, just months after the nation elected a new government that has pledged to support environmental policies of the European Union (EU). ... Poland, which currently receives about 70% of its electricity from burning coal, and has long been Europe’s largest producer of the fuel, has been slowly increasing its use of solar and wind power. ... Urszula Zielinska, the country’s Secretary of State for Climate, during a meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Jan. 15, said, “Only with an end...

The Government is going to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, will update the Cabinet that he has directed officials to prepare a Declaration of Intervention. If approved by the Government, this will be filed at the court in The Hague for the case against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention. It is not clear yet what points of law Ireland will reply upon for its intervention. …

Focus Ireland is hoping to help thousands of homeless people to register to vote ahead of the local and European elections in June. Focus Ireland’s director of advocacy, Mike Allen, said that there are around 9,500 homeless adults in Ireland and many of them would not be registered to vote. The charity is now hoping to change that as voting registration was simplified after the Electoral Reform Act was passed in 2022. More than 50,000 Irish people have spent at least one night of their lives homeless, according to figures published by Focus Ireland. …

Chief Executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association has described an increase in thefts last year — driven mainly by robberies from shops — as “frightening”. Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Vincent Jennings said it is not just just the thefts that are concerning, but the associated incidents — such as assaults, assaults causing harm, drunkenness, misogynistic and hateful comments being made to staff and public order offenses. Annual crime figures released by the Central Statistics Office show there was a significant increase in theft offenses last year. Almost half of the more than 74,000 thefts and related...

LONDON (AP) – Ireland is poised to get its youngest-ever premier after Simon Harris secured the leadership of the Fine Gael party on Sunday, replacing Leo Varadkar who announced his surprise resignation last week. The 37-year-old Harris, who is the government’s further and higher education minister, was the only candidate to put his name forward to succeed Varadkar, who had been Ireland’s previous youngest prime minister, or what Ireland calls its taoiseach.

The French government is raising its terror alert warning to its highest level following the shootings on Moscow, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Sunday after a meeting with senior security and defence officials with President Emmanuel Macron. Attal said in a post on X that the decision, which comes months before Paris hosts the Olympic Games, was taken "in light of the Islamic State's claiming responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country". ...

Ireland, Spain, Malta and Slovenia standing ready to recognize the Palestine state has given Palestinians “hope,” its ambassador has said. Earlier, in a joint-statement, the four countries’ prime ministers said they were ready to recognize the Palestine state when the “circumstances are right”. The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, welcomed the statement, describing it as “promising news”. She said it might only be a few EU countries, but that Ireland is “leading” the way and she expressed thanks for “all the Irish efforts”. …

In 2017, Varadkar became the first gay prime minister of the once-staunchly Catholic country and the youngest person to hold the office. He returned to the premiership in 2022 under a rotation arrangement struck between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the two largest parties in a three-party coalition with the smaller Green Party. Varadkar's government has overseen a sharp economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic but has struggled to tackle a decade-long housing crisis and more recently the pressure on services from record numbers of asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees. He also suffered an embarrassing referendum defeat this month when...

President Biden met with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Friday, where the leader said he thinks there should be a cease-fire “as soon as possible” between Israel and Hamas. Varadkar said he was “keen” to speak with Biden about the war in Gaza, as the two leaders met at the White House to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. “You know, my – my view that we need to have a cease-fire as soon as possible to get food and medicine in, to get the hostages out,” Varadkar said. Biden interjected, saying “And I agree.” The Prime Minister continued, saying he and...

Former president Mary Robinson has called on the Taoiseach (prime minister) to urge the US to end its military and financial support for Israel during his meeting with Joe Biden at the White House. Leo Varadkar this afternoon met US President Joe Biden, with Ukraine, Gaza, Northern Ireland and the economic outlook on the agenda. The chairwoman of the Elders group said the focus should not be on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but on political responses to it. Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Mrs. Robinson said: “Yes, the humanitarian situation is utterly catastrophic and dire, reducing a people...

President Michael D. Higgins has issued a blistering critique of the situation in Gaza, saying it is scandalous that humanitarian aid and medical supplies are being blocked from entering the coastal strip. He added that those nations responsible for allowing the blockade to continue “must take responsibility for the deaths that are ensuing”. The President also criticized a “propaganda campaign” against the United Nations and called on countries to increase aid for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). Several countries, including the US and UK, have paused funding for the relief agency in Gaza following claims from Israel that some...

Europe is continuing its shift to the right, as voters in Portugal on Sunday rejected socialist governance and cemented the populist-nationalist Chega party as a major political force in the country and potentially a coalition partner in the next government. Following a corruption scandal hitting the highest levels of the socialist government of António Costa, whose own chief of staff and other government ministers were arrested on suspicion of corruption, forcing the PM to announce his resignation and call for an early election, the party has tumbled in the weekend’s election.

The Biden administration scrambled behind the scenes to prepare for the imminent possibility that Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a shocking new report revealed. In 2022, the CIA warned President Biden of a 50% change or higher that Russia would reach for its nuclear arsenal if it found its forces were decimated and the illegally annexed territory of Crimea was at risk, according to the New York Times. Those reports caused Biden to deliver his famous “Armageddon” speech at an Oct. 6, 2022, fundraiser in New York City, in which he warned, “We have not faced the...

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Demand for transporting goods from Asia to Europe by rail via Russia has increased by an average of 30% since the start of the Red Sea crisis, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing logistics companies and rail operators. German shipping company DHL said that requests to transport goods on Russian railways have increased by 40% since container ships began traveling along alternative routes following the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the report said on Sunday. At the same time, Netherlands-based Rail Bridge Cargo said that rail freight traffic via Russia was 31% higher this year compared...

Portugal’s Socialists conceded defeat in a parliamentary election on Sunday which saw the far-right emerge as the biggest winner. With nearly 99% of votes counted, the center-right AD coalition had secured 77 seats against 75 seats for the Socialists. “Everything indicates that the result won’t enable the Socialist Party to be the most voted party," Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos said. He congratulated the AD for their election victory. Far-right party Chega recorded the biggest jump in support compared with the 2022 election - it has already won 46 seats, almost quadrupling its current tally. This means the AD would...

One in every five car owners are planning to get rid of their car over the coming years, new research has found. The rising cost of running a car is among the big drivers, the survey discovered, with almost two thirds citing this as an influence on their decision. However, just over three quarters said that grocery shopping remains the biggest barrier to them doing away with their wheels. A little over a third claimed they use their car every day to get to and from work. Overall, a fifth of car users said they would prefer to use their...

A dual referendum in Ireland on redefining family and women's roles in the constitution has been defeated, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday. The government had supported the proposed changes, which would have widened the definition of the family and clarified out-dated language about the duties of women in society. "I think it's clear at this stage, that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated," Varadkar said at a press conference in Dublin.The votes are the latest attempt to reflect the changing face of European Union member Ireland, and the waning influence of the once-dominant...

The European Commission will propose on Tuesday ways for the European Union to boost its arms industry so it can shift to “war economy mode” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner, will lay out proposals to encourage EU countries to buy more weapons together from European companies, and to help such firms increase production capacity, according to EU officials. “We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode. This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support,” said Breton, previewing the package. Breton, a...

Irish military aircraft are to be dispatched to the Middle East to help get vital humanitarian aid into Gaza, under plans being considered by the Government. Under the proposals, Ireland will work with Jordan to air drop emergency humanitarian supplies into the region which is at risk of widespread famine due to the ongoing Israeli assault. The move follows similar operations carried out by the United States and Jordan last weekend. Under the plans being considered by Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs will work with military officials to transport aid into Jordan, which will then be parachuted into Gaza....

German law enforcement authorities on Thursday carried out raids across Germany against people suspected of posting misogynistic hate speech on the internet as part of of a coordinated push to shine the spotlight on online violence against women. Police raided homes and interrogated 45 suspects in 11 states early Thursday. None of the suspects were detained, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office said in a statement. Another 37 suspects were already searched and interrogated in previous weeks and months.The raids were part of a “combating misogyny on the internet” day of action, which comes one day before International’s Women’s Day. “We...