The Irish Press - News from Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Drogheda, Galyway, Ireland and the world

Burberry posted a slight rise in sales on Wednesday, as the British luxury fashion label's turnaround plan showed signs of progress, helped by improving demand in its crucial China market.

Botswana is sitting on nearly double its permitted diamond stockpile as weak prices and rising competition from lab‑grown stones curb demand, the government said, warning the glut will weigh on economic growth.

Six-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz said Wednesday he feels no responsibility to be a good ambassador for tennis in the way that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were before him.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina hit out at "ignorant drunks" after confronting the crowd during his gruelling five-set win over Reilly Opelka at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The Philippines said Wednesday it will end its ban on Elon Musk's Grok, less than a week after blocking the AI chatbot over its ability to generate sexualised deepfakes.

European police said Wednesday they had busted a major synthetic drug ring working across several countries in the "largest-ever operation" of its kind, striking a "massive blow" to organised crime.

Grand Slam champion Daniil Medvedev said Wednesday he had no plans to follow a host of fellow Russian players and switch his nationality amid the war in Ukraine.

Asian equities were mixed Wednesday following a rough start to the week fuelled by Donald Trump's Greenland-linked tariff threats, while the uncertainty rattling through trading floors saw safe-haven precious metals hit fresh record highs.

The world's biggest nuclear power plant is set to restart on Wednesday for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, its Japanese operator said, despite persistent safety concerns among residents.

Former South Korean prime minister Han Duck‑soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday for aiding and abetting a declaration of martial law that briefly suspended civilian rule and plunged the country into chaos.

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz fended off a series of "bombs" before surging into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday, where he was joined by Aryna Sabalenka and a near-flawless Coco Gauff.

More than 1,400 Indonesians have left cyberscam networks in Cambodia in the last five days, Jakarta said on Wednesday, after Phnom Penh pledged a fresh crackdown on the illicit trade.

Emma Raducanu said she will sit down to "re-evaluate" her game following a flat second-round exit at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Luka Doncic bagged a 38-point triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers staged a second-half rally to claim a 115-107 road victory over the Denver Nuggets in Colorado on Tuesday.

Bangladesh said they would not back down to "coercion" and play their T20 World Cup matches in India, casting doubt on their participation with cricket's governing body yet to rule on the impasse.

Six-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz was put through his paces by German journeyman Yannick Hanfmann on Wednesday before swatting him aside to book his place in the Australian Open third round.

US President Donald Trump resumed his trip to the Davos forum in Switzerland early Wednesday after an electrical issue forced his presidential plane to return to its air base.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka called her Australian Open record "crazy and surreal" after beating tricky Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan to reach the third round on Wednesday.

Aryna Sabalenka and a near-flawless Coco Gauff surged into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday ahead of top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz resuming his quest for tennis history.

Flawless third seed Coco Gauff took just 78 minutes to blast past Venus Williams' conquerer Olga Danilovic and into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday.

Investor confidence in Chinese AI startups is riding high, but obstacles to their long-term success range from US export controls to the puzzle of how to become profitable.

Three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev survived an early scare on Wednesday before battling into the Australian Open third round.

Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen upstaged a crack field of sprinters in a hectic finish to win the first stage of the Tour Down Under on Wednesday.

Emerging Turkish talent Zeynep Sonmez said she had never known an atmosphere like it as she extended her trailblazing Australian Open run Wednesday in front of an electric crowd.

The Houston Rockets snapped the San Antonio Spurs' three-game winning streak on Tuesday, overturning a 16-point deficit to score a 111-106 over their in-form Texas rivals.

The gunman charged with killing Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was found guilty and jailed for life Wednesday, more than three years after the broad-daylight assassination shocked the world.

Aryna Sabalenka Wednesday said she "didn't want to talk politics" after Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova called for Belarusian and Russian players to be banned from tennis.

US President Donald Trump's plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a "minor electrical issue" shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said.

A commuter train near Barcelona ploughed into the rubble of a collapsed wall on Tuesday, killing one and injuring dozens in Spain's second deadly rail accident in days.

North Korea is producing enough nuclear material a year for up to 20 weapons, the South's President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday, warning that Pyongyang's ambitions could pose a global danger.

The gunman charged with killing Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe faces a verdict Wednesday, more than three years after the broad-daylight assassination shocked the world.

Climate change is turbocharging heatwaves, wildfires, floods and tropical storms, but how deadly have extreme weather events become for people in their path?

Asian equities stabilised Wednesday after a rough start to the week fuelled by Donald Trump's Greenland-linked tariff threats, though uncertainty rattling through trading floors saw safe-haven precious metals hit fresh record highs.

Taiwan's economy soared last year on skyrocketing exports of AI hardware and semiconductors, but companies in more traditional manufacturing sectors could only look on with envy as they were clobbered by US tariffs and a strong local currency.

A "super-happy" Aryna Sabalenka surged past China's Bai Zhuoxuan into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday ahead of fellow world number one Carlos Alcaraz resuming his quest for tennis history.

With pollution in Pakistan hitting record highs in recent years, citizens clutching air monitors and legal papers are taking the fight for clean air into their own hands.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka set up a potential third-round showdown with Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open after a straight-sets win Wednesday over Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

Chile's right-wing president-elect Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday named two ex-lawyers of former dictator Augusto Pinochet to lead the ministries of defense and human rights when he takes office in March.

Naomi Osaka says she is "a little strange" but doesn't care after an audacious jellyfish-inspired fashion statement at the Australian Open went viral.