The Doomsday Clock, which has been ticking down to the end of the world for decades, is now officially closer to annihilation than ever before. On Tuesday, scientists with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the symbolic clock four seconds forward to 85 seconds to midnight. Alexandra Bell, president and CEO of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, said: 'Every second counts and we are running out of time. This is the second year in a row that the Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight - the hypothetical point where the world will end. Every year, the Doomsday Clock has been updated based on how close humanity theoretically is to total annihilation.

Children as young as seven are arriving at school under the influence of drugs, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Fine Gael TD for Louth, Paula Butterly, told the justice committee that schools in Drogheda had told her of incidents involving so-called “drug mules”. She said that in many cases, those using the children as drug mules were children themselves. If there are children who are being forced into criminal activity by adults, that is child abuse. The legislation is in place in respect of it, but I think maybe from society, we can categorise it as child abuse, which it is.

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser. Please note if you are unable to sign up via your mobile web browser, please download and sign up for mobile push notifications via our FREE mobile news app.

Popular UK restaurant with 500 locations shuts two branches suddenlyFans have taken to social media to express their disappointment. View 2 Images The sushi restaurant first opened in London in 1997 (Image: EyeEm Mobile GmbH via Getty Images)A popular restaurant chain with over 500 sites across the UK has unexpectedly closed two of its branches this week, leaving customers shocked. ‌The latest include the Manchester Arndale Centre outlet, which had been serving customers for 15 years, and Glasgow's West George Street location — the final Yo! restaurant in the city centre, now marked as 'permanently closed'. Sushi also ceased trading, leaving just two standalone restaurants operating across the whole of Scotland - at Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow and Aberdeen's Union Square.

AbbVie, the company behind Botox, makes almost of all of the product in Westport, Co Mayo. The Trump administration had until the start of February to announce the next round of drugs selected for price cuts, which will take effect in 2028. In total, the selected drugs accounted for approximately $27bn (€22.6bn) in total prescription drug spending under Medicare Part B and Part D, representing about 6% of total spending. Novo Nordisk's best-selling weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic headlined the 2025 list of drugs targeted for negotiations. Drugmakers have fought the price negotiations with lawsuits and claims that the lower prices deplete them of incentives to develop new drugs.

France's Uini Atonio in action against Ireland in the Six Nations last March at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Seb Daly/SportsfileFrench rugby has been rocked by news that veteran tighthead prop Uini Atonio has been forced to retire from rugby after suffering a ‘cardiac event’ earlier this week. The La Rochelle giant had been named in France’s Six Nations squad and was set to face Ireland in Paris next week, however, he was admitted to hospital yesterday where a heart problem was detected.

A Cork lotto player has woken up €500,000 richer after matching all five numbers in the EuroMillions Plus draw. The Cork winner purchased their ticket on the day of the draw at Con’s Shop, Gurranabraher Rd, for Tuesday night’s EuroMillions Plus draw. As there was no winner of the EuroMillions jackpot worth €109,599,909, Friday night’s jackpot is set to roll towards an estimated €125m. Last year, a family syndicate won a €250m EuroMillions jackpot, which was the largest Lotto prize ever won in Ireland. The winning ticket was sold on Cork's Shandon Street in Clifford’s Centra.

Two teenage boys were “laughing and filming” as they raped a “petrified” girl in a UK town, a court has heard. The first defendant also faces two counts of rape and the second defendant faces four counts of rape against the second complainant in the incident which happened in January 2025. A third boy, who is now 14 but 13 at the time, faces two counts of rape in the second incident by aiding and abetting the second defendant. Ms Mittel said the boys suggested they had a “threesome” which the girl “felt disgusted” about but went along with because she felt it was “the three boys against just her”. The prosecutor said that video footage recorded on the second defendant’s phone showed the girl being raped by the first two defendants.

Scientists' verdict on whether horror deadly Nipah virus outbreak could spark pandemicThe UK Health Security Agency has said it continues to 'monitor the situation closely' after two countries began checking arriving passengers for the deadly Nipah virusView 4 Images A Nipah virus outbreak in India has sparked worry over a 'new pandemic' - and experts have now given their verdict (Image: DeFodi Images via Getty Images)Top doctors have issued their verdict on the Nipah virus after two countries began testing passengers at airports for the deadly disease. ‌No cases of Nipah virus have ever been reported in Britain. "Nipah virus does not occur in the UK and there has never been an imported case reported. "The basic reproduction number of the Nipah virus is typically below 1, suggesting limited human-to-human transmission and a low likelihood of widespread pandemic spread." Between 40 and 75% of people infected with Nipah virus die, and survivors may be left with lasting neurological difficulties, including persistent seizures and lasting personality changes.

Man who died in horror BMW crash named as police launch appealA man who died in a deadly road smash has been named after crashing his BMW on Friday January 16View 2 Images Phillip Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene (Image: Police Scotland)A man who lost his life in a horror road crash has been named as police launch a fresh appeal. Emergency services responded to reports of a BMW X5 crashing on the road at 12.50pm on Friday, January 16. ‌Police and Scottish Ambulance Service, rushed to the crash site but sadly the man, who was the driver of the car, was pronounced dead. ‌Sergeant Colin Ramage said: "Our thoughts remain with Phillip's family and friends and our enquiries into the crash are continuing. Sergeant Ramage previously said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the man who died at this extremely difficult time, and our enquiries into the crash are ongoing.

A voluntary redundancy programme has opened at Ericsson in Athlone. Almost 30 jobs to go at Ericsson in AthloneAthlone's largest multinational employer, Ericsson, has announced it will be making up to 29 of its staff in the town redundant. Details of the voluntary severance programme were communicated to staff at the company's Cornamaddy, Athlone, premises earlier today (Wednesday). Staff will told that the voluntary redundancy programme "for SA Network Management employees" would "potentially impact up to 29 positions" among Eircsson's 1,350-strong Athlone workforce. The voluntary redundancy programme opened today, with applications being accepted until Friday, February 6.

Photograph: Bryan O’BrienRemove the menace of scrambler bikes from beleaguered communities. “Scrambler bikes have been the scourge of working-class communities in Dublin and beyond for years. “Her death cannot be in vain, because Grace Lynch matters. The death of Grace Lynch must be that “watershed moment” now, said Ivana. Time that Grace Lynch didn’t have.

As reported here by Mick Clifford, there were emotional scenes in the courtroom as this case concluded, and little wonder. These gardaí had court cases hanging over their heads for five years — cases involving the serious charge of perverting the court of justice. A nationwide audit was not conducted to check whether what happened in Limerick was happening elsewhere in the country. There is a further complication even if the necessary regulation is finally introduced: It is useless if not properly enforced. However, the former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland star said this week he had told the show to “dream on”.

”The reductions we are making today will impact approximately 16,000 roles across Amazon,” said Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon. “That starts with offering most US-based employees 90 days to look for a new role internally. The tech giant said it is making the move in furtherance of “reducing layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy”. However, despite announcing a further 14,000 job cuts just three months ago, the company is not planning regular reductions at intervals, Galetti said. “Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm, where we announce broad reductions every few months.

Mohamed Salah's 'best friend' holds key to three deals as Liverpool star's transfer on holdLiverpool's transfer business is at a standstillView 3 Images Kostas Tsimikas is Mohamed Salah's best friend at the club (Image: Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson has been heavily linked with a move to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Of course, Liverpool already have one in Kostas Tsimikas, the best friend of Mohamed Salah, who is out on loan at Roma. ‌After the loss to Bournemouth, Reds captain Virgil van Dijk revealed that he wants Robertson to stay. At the time of writing, it is expected that Tsimikas will stay at Roma until the end of the season, when his loan expires. As well as being a solid back-up left-back, Tsimikas is well known at Liverpool for his friendship with Salah.