Children are being “bombarded” online by so-called AI girlfriend porn apps, which are “grooming” boys to perpetrate sexual violence and girls to accept such behaviour. Calling them ‘girlfriends’ also suggests that our girlfriends should do whatever we tell them to ‘because my AI girlfriend does’. An Australian report, Turning Women and Girls into Porn, examined 20 AI girlfriend and nudification apps which allow users to customise their own porn girlfriend either from a digital gallery or from an image they can upload of a girl or woman. He said:Our kids are being groomed by the porn industry — our boys to be the perpetrators of sexual violence, our girls to think that sexual violence is what they should be consenting to. She said:It thwarts boys’ views of girls and intimates that girls are there to be controlled, manipulated, used — and abused.

A new cost-of-disability payment should be in place by next year's budget, the new disabilities minister has said. She said the payment was not going to happen overnight because the practicalities of it had to be teased out. "We'll be recruiting over 1,000 people this coming year, and we'll be recruiting 150 people to work in our CDNT teams. We also have a new bursary programme where we're financially supporting students who then commit to working in our CDNT teams on graduation." Ms Higgins said that those 150 CDNT hires would be prioritised in the most under-staffed areas.

And the insidious part is that children aren’t seeking these websites out. How much longer before we have the first case of sexual assault inspired by an AI scenario? But the people of this country deserve better, particularly the women and girls who will face the brunt of this behaviour. And there is a parallel, related problem that may manifest more widely as a result of utter reliance on AI apps for, well, pretty much everything. “AI psychosis” is an increasing issue, with apps like ChatGPT blamed for suicides as well as parasocial addictive behaviour.

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Jesy Nelson has revealed devastating health news after welcoming her twin girls eight months ago. 'After the most gruelling three, four months and endless appointments the girls have now been diagnosed with a severe muscular disease - SMA Type 1,' she then explained. I almost feel like I am grieving a life I thought I was going to have with my children. With SMA type 1, 95 per cent of motor neurons can be destroyed before the age of six months. Jesy announced she was expecting twins with her boyfriend Zion back in January 2025 after rumours they had split.

Tottenham booed off after Sunderland draw as pressure mounts on Thomas FrankBy George Sessions, Press AssociationTottenham started 2026 by dropping more points at home and were booed off after Sunderland struck in the 80th minute through Brian Brobbey to rescue a 1-1 draw. It was a timely boost for Thomas Frank amid a difficult winter period where a lack of style and attacking flair has led to criticism from a disgruntled fanbase. Sunderland responded with typical spirit given their superb campaign back in the top-flight and Trai Hume lashed over from a corner before half-time. Brobbey and Romero got involved in a running battle afterwards and while Richarlison wasted a fine opening for Tottenham, Sunderland refused to go away. It sparked an end-to-end finale but Palhinha headed wide in stoppage-time to ensure a 1-1 draw.

His own social media feeds includes an ad for ‘AI girlfriends’, with sexualised images of a woman and a tagline ‘Build your own AI slut’. But, he said, this was before even seeing the impact AI sex simulators is having. "They need to ban nudification apps — and AI sex simulators that facilitate the use of images of real people — what they facilitate is already illegal." In turn, Coimisiún na Meán said the code made online platforms accountable for how they protect people, especially children, from harm online. But she said it was limited to a number of designated social media platforms rather than AI girlfriend websites.

Much of Scotland, which is covered by several amber snow warnings, should be braced for the worst of the weather. Separate yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place for Wales, Greater Manchester and south-west England, while much of the east coast of England is covered by a yellow warning for ice. A yellow warning for snow and ice covers much of Scotland north of Glasgow, and expires at midnight on Monday. “Follow Police Scotland travel advice. If you can delay your journey until the amber warning has expired, please do so.”Shetland Isles Council said schools would be closed on Monday.

Locals in a quiet rural suburb are locked in a planning battle with a pilates instructor who built a wellness centre in her grandparents' back garden. Megan Smith, 24, has enraged neighbours by transforming an outhouse behind her grandad's £825,000 Norfolk home into a pilates studio - fit with an onsite cafe, ice baths and sauna. Another local resident added: 'It is suggested that this planning application if successful will lead to improvements in participants physical and mental health. 'If this proves to be the case it will be at a cost to the local residents mental health. 'The development delivers meaningful health, wellbeing, and social benefits and is fully consistent with national, local, and neighbourhood planning policy.'

Liverpool's line-up for Sunday's Premier League trip to Fulham was without one key player due to injury. The Reds travelled down to Craven Cottage looking to record their fourth win in five top-flight matches. However, there was notable absentee from their squad - with the player in question having suffered a hamstring injury. 'That's led to him picking up a slight hamstring injury, and for a player of his age, not completely used to the Premier League, that's been a bit too much.' Ekitike has scored eight Premier League goals in 18 matches for the Reds since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Photograph: AFP via Getty ImagesWith backing from Saudi Arabia, Yemeni government-allied forces recaptured an oil-rich region of their country this weekend from armed separatists who were trying to form a breakaway state. The separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, seized control of most of southern Yemen in a swift offensive last month. Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, two oil-rich US allies, are increasingly at odds. The convoy flew the flag of the Nation Shield Forces, a group backed by Saudi Arabia but that is technically subordinate to the Yemeni government. The next step is likely to be a diplomatic conference, convened by Saudi Arabia, to discuss the future of southern Yemen.

Irish people marched in our tens of thousands in 2025 to demand peace, justice, and self-determination for the Palestinian people. The Occupied Territories Bill, if enacted, would indicate intent and provide an example for other states. The system in Ireland is graduated and requires 40 years of contributions to get the full contributory pension. Furthermore, developing native energy sources would lower Ireland’s CO2 equivalent emissions twelvefold and 45 times lower than the proposed LNG facility. It is grossly irresponsible to ignore the multiple advantages of developing Ireland’s indigenous energy resources.

Mobile data usage among Vodafone customers increased by over 19% during 2025 as the number of voice calls across the network declined, new data from the telecoms provider shows. According to the company, mobile data usage rose by 19.24% year-on-year, climbing from 445,133 TB in 2024 to 530,794 TB in 2025. According to the communications regulator ComReg, in the third quarter of 2025, Three had the largest share of mobile subscriptions in Ireland with 49.4% — these including mobile broadband and Machine to Machine subscriptions. Machine to Machine subscriptions are specific sims that help smart devices communicate. This was followed by Vodafone with 27.3%, Eir with 14.5%, Tesco Mobile at 4.6%, Lyca Mobile at 1.7%, Virgin Mobile at 1.3%, An Post Mobile at 0.6% and Sky Mobile at 0.5%.

The number of retail and hospitality business insolvencies declined throughout 2025 as the overall number of company closures remained steady, new data from professional services firm PwC shows. The latest PwC Insolvency Barometer shows the number of insolvencies recorded in 2025 hit 848 which is down from the 868 recorded in 2024. “This sustained decline may reflect improved trading conditions, stronger consumer sentiment along with possible successful restructuring efforts within the sector,” PwC said. Hospitality sector insolvenciesThe hospitality sector also saw an 8% drop in insolvencies last year with 141 recorded. Dublin, Cork, and Galway accounted for 70% of all insolvencies recorded in 2025, with Dublin alone responsible for 55%.