Israeli forces open fire on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, no injuries reported
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle patrolling on the Lebanese side of the border separating northern Israel from southern Lebanon on November 16th. Photograph: Jalaa Marey/ AFP via Getty ImagesIsraeli military forces opened fire on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in an incident the UN peacekeeping mission described as a serious violation. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFL) said the Israeli forces had fired from a Merkava tank positioned inside Lebanese territory towards the peacekeepers, who were on foot. The Israeli tank withdrew after peacekeepers contacted the Israeli military through official channels, UNIFIL said. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last year that required the Lebanese militant group not to have any weapons in the south and for Israeli forces to fully withdraw from Lebanon.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 16:29 UTC
‘The worst team in Wallabies history’: Australian media show displeasure at Ireland defeat
There were plenty of pejorative words used in the headlines of the Australian newspapers following the Wallabies’ 46-19 defeat to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. Elsewhere in the same newspaper, under the headline “Irish humiliation puts Wallabies on verge of a 126-year low,” the article asserted that, “It’s been a year of unwanted history for the Wallabies. Ben Talintyre wrote on the website news.com.au under the headline and strapline, “Wallabies in tatters as Joe Schmidt on verge of worst year in Australian rugby history. Joe Schmidt’s legacy is in tatters as the Wallabies face going down as the worst team in Australian history,” about a less than promising future for the national team. “The Wallabies’ worst win percentage in a year was 38 per cent under Jones in 2005.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 16:04 UTC
Man and his mother turned up outside ex-partner’s home wearing balaclavas, court told
Photograph: Stephen Collins/CollinsA young woman has obtained a protection order after telling a judge her ex-partner and his mother turned up outside her home wearing balaclavas in an attempt to “intimidate” her. The woman told Dublin District Family Court that the man, whom she has a child with, threatened to “smash” her home up and “put the car through it”. In a sworn statement to the court, the woman said her former partner and his mother turned up outside her home at night recently wearing balaclavas. The woman told the court her younger son has been struggling with drug addiction for years and has become “more and more volatile and aggressive”. “This poses a huge risk to my grandson’s life,” the woman told the court.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 16:04 UTC
Ivana Bacik speech heralds major step-change for Labour
Like all the parties which have been extant since the Civil War, the Labour Party has never shied away from describing itself as a republican party. She also laid out arguments for just transition, renewables, sustainable and public transport that could have come straight out of a Green Party manifesto. In several interviews, and in her speech, Bacik outlined the possibilities for a united left approach in Irish politics. But such a united left has its limit. In effect, they circumscribed the alliance to only three parties, Labour and the other parties to which it is closely aligned politically: the Social Democrats and the Green Party.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 15:50 UTC
Storm Claudia: People urged to check on vulnerable neighbours as flooding still possible
15/11/2025 - Wet and Windy conditions produce an angry sea at Loughshinny in North Co Dublin during Storm Claudia. People in these counties have been urged to take extra care on roads and check on vulnerable neighbours. Cllr Oliver Walsh, leas cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, said Bridgetown, Castlebridge and Ballycanew were among the areas worst affected by flooding. “The big thing would be for people to go out and check on their neighbours, check that everybody is okay - especially any older, vulnerable neighbours,” he said on Sunday. “Some rivers haven’t yet peaked, so flooding is still possible across Leinster and Munster after warnings expired and rainfall eases,” it said in a statement.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 15:36 UTC
Seán Moncrieff: Visiting from France, my daughter found Ireland hard to love – The Irish Times
Unlike in Ireland, living in a small town in France doesn’t seem so beset with the problems of being far from all the money and power. Apart from all the toddlers, it sounds like a really nice hotel; the sort you’d pay through the nose for in this country. But, unlike in Ireland, living in a small town in France doesn’t seem so beset with the problems of being far from all the money and power. But after that, would you share any of it with friends or family who might need a dig-out? And by the same token, how the governments we elect spend the tax revenue we give them reveals something about us.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 15:32 UTC
Irish winemaker in Catalonia: ‘It’s like milking in Roscommon, but it’s 18 degrees today’
Tom Gallagher has just finished making repairs on his vineyard after a torrential rainstorm overnight in the Montsant wine region of southern Catalonia, Spain. Tom Gallagher's vineyard in Priorat, CataloniaHe was working in New York when the pandemic was declared and he had 24 hours to return to Spain. But thanks to the vineyard work is now “coming into his prime at 34″ but with “hands full of cuts”. Abroad: Tom Gallagher's farm“Every day and every year is different,” he says. “Here they respect hard work and dedication”Find more on Tom Gallagher’s wine TomishWine.com and at Instagram @Tomishwine
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 15:28 UTC
Gen Z protests against Mexico president turn violent following anger over mayor’s death
The demonstration on Saturday was organised by members of generation Z, but ended with strong backing from older supporters of opposition parties. He reported that 100 police officers were injured, of whom 40 required hospital treatment for bruises and cuts, while 20 protesters were hurt. Hundreds of young people threw projectiles at the police, who responded by deploying their shields and also threw objects at the protesters. “This is how you should have protected Carlos Manzo,” some of the protesters shouted at the security forces. Hundreds of young people threw projectiles at the police, who responded by deploying their shields and also threw objects at the protesters.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 15:25 UTC
Nurse who had not had lie-in ‘for 18 months’ over noise from apartment above is awarded €2,000
Orla Mohan claimed she had not had a lie-in since the tenant moved in above her apartment 18 months previously, nor had she had a 'proper night’s sleep'. Photograph: Getty ImagesA nurse who complained she had not had a lie-in for 18 months due to “excessive sound” emanating from the apartment above hers has been awarded €2,000 in damages by a Residential Tenancies Board tribunal. Ms Mohan, who provided several videos of the “unreasonable noise pollution” to the tribunal, claimed the noise could be heard from 6am and occurs “at all times” throughout the day, sometimes until midnight. While accepting there was a level of noise she must accept in apartment living, she said the noise “goes far beyond what is reasonable”. Ms Mohan said she had tried to speak to the tenant on several occasions, and they were “shocked” there was an issue.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 14:31 UTC
Malachy Clerkin: Ireland needed a get-right game and they got what they were looking for
But at the end, the scoreboard read 46-19 to Ireland, with six tries scored and no lineouts lost. A lot of things went right. The first penalty of the second half went their way after Doris got in over the ball like a limpet. And the only yellow card of the night went Australia’s way with nine minutes left on the clock, sealing the result. They needed a get-right game and they got what they were looking for.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 13:01 UTC
In pictures: On The Edge of Europe in Kerry
So, in a book oozing with colour, vibrancy and quirkiness, has O’Sullivan a favourite photo? Photograph: Valerie O'SullivanPat O’Shea has called this precarious island his home between April and September for the past 35 years. Photograph: Valerie O'SullivanThe famous herd in Killarney National Park consists of around 600 animals. Photograph: Valerie O'SullivanChristy Banton O’Connor lives in Lisleibane, at the foothills of the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. Photograph: Valerie O’SullivanThe photographer Valerie O'Sullivan at home in KillarneyOn The Edge of Europe: Kerry by Valerie O’Sullivan is published by Currach Books
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 12:00 UTC
‘Veil of deep sadness’: Five people killed in Co Louth crash named
The Garda cordon on the N52 Ardee to Dundalk road leading to the location of a car crash. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish TimesThe five people in their 20s who died in a two-car crash in Co Louth last night have been named. Supt Charlie Armstrong of Dundalk Garda station said the deaths will have a “deep impact on families and local communities” in those areas along with Dundalk. Photograph: Damien Eagers/PA WireTánaiste Simon Harris said a “veil of deep sadness and shock” had come over the country with the news. The L3168 was formerly the main Ardee to Dundalk road.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 11:56 UTC
Ireland player ratings v Australia: Mack Hansen and Ryan Baird stand out
Ireland's Mack Hansen on his way to scoring a try against Australia. Rating: 914 Tommy O’BrienHad a quiet first half but when he was brought into the game showed what a dangerous player he can be. Good work at the crossfield kick for Hansen’s third try. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho7 Caelan Doris (capt)The natural leader took on several big carries, tackled well in defence when Australia were bringing up hard ball. But this looked more like the Ireland of old, every bit good for the win on a tough night to play.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 07:48 UTC
Why were Buddhist and Hindu traditions not represented at Catherine Connolly’s inauguration? – The Irish Times
As always, the presidential inauguration included all the major Abrahamic faith traditions, as if those were the only religious traditions in this country. Smaller religious traditions were included, but the larger Buddhist and Hindu traditions were left out. But this was not reflected in the version of religion that was represented in the presidential inauguration ceremony. It seems that the Irish State is simply blind to the realities of religion in contemporary Irish life. It is a projection of what matters to the Irish State.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 07:35 UTC
Ireland’s most expensive toll road journeys costing ‘the better part of €100 a week’
“I hit two on the M3 going down to Dublin and then the M50 toll. It’s working out at the better part of €100 a week – on top of fuel and maintenance on the van. If they wish to use the southbound Dublin Tunnel (informally known as the Port Tunnel) at peak times an extra €1 will apply. “We have installed a new system at the Port Tunnel – largely at the behest of the haulage industry – to make it faster and more efficient. Many of these privately run tolls will lapse back into State ownership in about 10 years’ time.
Source:The Irish Times
November 16, 2025 07:30 UTC