Catholic bishop investigated over sexual abuse claims in first of its kind Spanish case
Both the Vatican and the Spanish Catholic Church have begun investigations into the claims against the bishop. Photograph: Laurie Chamberlain/GettyA bishop is being investigated over allegations of sexual abuse in the first case of its kind in Spain. Mr Zornoza, who became bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta in 2011, has not given a personal response to the allegations. However, it is the first time that a bishop in Spain has been investigated following allegations of abuse. A 2023 public inquiry held by the ombudsman estimated that up to 440,000 Spaniards had suffered sexual abuse linked to the Catholic Church.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 17:26 UTC
India accused of ‘state terrorism’ after suicide bombing kills at least 12 in Pakistan
Firefighters douse a car at the site of a suicide bombing in Islamabad on Tuesday. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesPakistan has accused India of pursuing “state terrorism” after a suicide bombing killed at least 12 people outside a judicial complex in its capital Islamabad. Pakistan and India have long accused each other of supporting terrorists and separatist groups on their territories. Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday afternoon suggested Afghanistan’s Taliban government was to blame for the bombing. New Delhi and Kabul both deny any involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, and accuse Islamabad of using allegations of such involvement as a pretext to destabilise both nations.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 17:26 UTC
Courts still allowing drivers to avoid penalty points
Court Service figures show recent increases in the use of the poor box and the avoidance of convictions with accompanying penalty points. Penalty points were introduced through the 2002 Road Traffic Act. Following the 2014 ruling, then minister for transport Leo Varadkar confirmed the judgment “was circulated by the president of the District Court to all District Courts”. In 2022, 133 drivers avoided a court conviction with penalty point punishment by instead giving a charity donation. “The attention of judges of the District Court has been drawn to this from time to time,” he added.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 16:32 UTC
Valeo’s Irish unit an obvious sale target after overseas deals splurge
No wonder it put Valeo’s creditworthiness at B-, which is six levels deep into what’s considered junk status. It isn’t surprising, therefore, to see reports recently that Bain has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey to explore potential asset sales. Valeo was formed as Origin Enterprises merged its Odlums, Shamrock and Roma brands with Batchelors in 2010 in a deal backed by UK private equity firm CapVest. The Irish unit now only accounts for about a fifth of group sales. It will probably appeal to another private equity firm.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 16:32 UTC
Ad start-up Glitch raises €2m in seed funding to drive growth
Irish start-up Glitch has raised €2 million in seed funding to support its growth as it aims to simplify digital advertising. The company, which is based in Dogpatch Labs in Dublin, is targeting lean marketing teams and boutique agencies with its AI-powered ad platform that can help business-to-business marketers launch digital campaigns in minutes. Founded by Aisling Browne and Kingsley Kelly, Glitch automates repetitive, data-heavy tasks in the campaign setup, targeting, budget allocation and daily optimisation. “Digital advertising shouldn’t feel like decoding a foreign language,” said Aisling Browne, chief executive and cofounder of Glitch. “In a crowded digital marketing landscape, Glitch stands out because it delivers measurable results for its clients,” said Niall McEvoy, managing director of venture at Elkstone.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 16:12 UTC
Cop30: New approach to foot-dragging by richer countries appears to pay off as summit begins
Photograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty ImagesTalks at Cop30 only began on Monday afternoon but already the climate summit has its first deadline and it’s a tight one. Tired of foot-dragging by richer countries on key issues such as climate finance and emissions cuts, they want proof that there is genuine engagement by all. Brazilian member of the Chamber of Deputies, Celia Xakriaba Nunes Correa, gestures as she speaks to the press during COP30. Stiell warned countries that could not continue and signalled they would have to contribute more to keep the agency afloat. [ Cop30: as the window for meaningful action narrows fast, the stakes couldn’t be higherOpens in new window ]
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 15:56 UTC
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg should take Billie Eilish’s question seriously – The Irish Times
Elon Musk has reportedly negotiated a performance-related package with the shareholders of Tesla worth a trillion dollars (€864.9 billion). To bag it, he must sell 20 million Tesla cars, 10 million self-driving car subscriptions, one million humanoid robots and one million robotaxis. (For context, a trillion dollars has twelve zeros: 1,000,000,000,000.) Elon Musk has reportedly negotiated a performance-related package with the shareholders of Tesla worth a trillion dollars. In a direct call to Mark Zuckerberg and the world’s billionaires she said, “there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 15:47 UTC
Rain warnings in force in eight counties with localised flooding forecast
Yellow rain alerts and warning of spells of heavy rain and possible localised flooding are in effect for eight counties. Photograph: Sam Boal/CollinsStatus yellow rain alerts and warnings of spells of heavy rain and possible localised flooding are in effect for eight counties. Bands of “persistent rain” are forecast to move north throughout the day, and this rain will be heavy and prolonged, especially across Munster and south Leinster, Met Éireann said. Two status yellow rain warnings are in place, the first of which lasts until 2pm for counties Cork and Kerry. Both warn of spells of heavy rain possibly resulting in localised flooding, difficult travelling conditions and poor visibility.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 15:37 UTC
Ireland’s graduates ‘entitled’ and tax regime ‘digital colonialism’ – Denis O’Brien
Denis O'Brien said the State is 'complicit in facilitating global tax avoidance' by major US technology giantsBusinessman Denis O’Brien has described graduates emerging from Ireland’s colleges as “entitled” and referred to the State’s corporate tax regime as “digital colonialism” in a broad-ranging speech on Tuesday on the challenges facing the country. “In Ireland, we need to reform all parts of the Government and its administration,” he said. But while he noted that tech giants having data centres in Ireland are part of the system and something needs to be done to address tax-collection concerns, he insisted that the Republic needs to become a European leader in data centres. Data centres will be a huge driver of FDI and key to our digital services economy.”He noted there are more than 10 data centres waiting to be connected to the electricity grid, and more awaiting connection to the gas network. Mr O’Brien said the Government should ask big Irish companies to make specialist senior managers available for secondment to help oversee big projects.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 15:33 UTC
The Irish Times view on public service media: a principle worth defending
It forms part of a broader and increasingly co-ordinated assault on public service media on both sides of the Atlantic, with implications that stretch well beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. Her comments were seized upon by the right-wing British press, long hostile to the corporation. The BBC has no shortage of opponents on the British right who insist it is captured by a metropolitan liberal-left elite. Large public broadcasters are hardly without flaws. Public service broadcasters everywhere must innovate and adapt to a transformed media environment.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 14:47 UTC
Joan Wasser on Jeff Buckley: ‘I really understand the fascination... he was spectacular’
And in the classical world you don’t really learn very much about music in a certain way; you learn how to perform. “I know this is a controversy in writing in general, but I don’t know if anyone can write from another person’s perspective,” she says. There has been renewed interest in Buckley since the release of Amy Berg’s documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, earlier this year, which Wasser agreed to take part in. “The thing is, I really understand the fascination, and the longing for memories and shared information, because that person was that spectacular,” she says. There is no talk about the music, really, and it is at times sort of skewed, or lopsided.” She sighs softly.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 12:50 UTC
Expressway routes under threat and the future of the newspaper critic
Arachas Corporate Brokers, an insurance broker group chaired by former minister for finance Charlie McCreevy, paid €25 million in dividends to its parent last year as revenue and earnings continued to grow. Revenue at Irish supplement company Revive Active is set to hit €21 million this year as the company undertakes a big expansion, with new placements across Europe and with “significant growth” projected. Tech giant Dell Technologies is to collaborate with virtual production company Studio Ulster to develop state-of-the-art production facilities, support advanced production and fuel the studio’s growth. Arts and culture reviews have been a staple of newspapers almost since day one, but what is their future now as print retreats and the online world fragments? Cantillon looks at what Kingspan’s trading update tells us about the AI boom, while also considers the future of Valeo Foods and Airbnb’s tourism awards.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 12:27 UTC
Clanwilliam profit rose ahead of $450m acquisition
Healthcare technology company Clanwilliam saw revenue and profit rise in the year before it was bought by global private equity company TA Associates. The company, which is now being rebranded and launched as Lanas Healthcare Technologies with more than $115 million of acquisition funding, saw revenues rise to €103 million in 2024. That was up more than 7 per cent from €96 million the year before, with operating profit rising 10 per cent to €29.73 million. Pretax profit at the Irish-founded company, which specialises in electronic healthcare record technology, was €11.34 million, almost double the €6.52 million recorded in 2023. Clanwilliam, which was founded by Howard Beggs, was bought by TA in March 2025 in a deal worth around $450 million.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 12:02 UTC
Learning to speak new language can slow biological ageing, TCD researchers find
The study found no evidence that the protective effect of multilingualism depended on the language learned. Photograph: iStockLearning to speak one or more new languages can slow biological ageing and protect the brain against age-related cognitive decline. So says new research reported in Nature Ageing, by scientists at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the Basque Center On Cognition, Brain and Language in San Sebastian and the Latin American Brain Health Institute in Santiago, Chile. “Our results provide strong evidence that multilingualism functions as a protective factor for healthy ageing,” said Agustín Ibáñez, professor of global brain health at TCD, who co-led the research. Ageing clockA “bio-behavioural ageing clock” method was used to compare the participants’ predicted biological age, based on health, cognition, education and lifestyle factors, with their actual chronological age.
Source:The Irish Times
November 11, 2025 11:50 UTC