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

Ashes-winning Australia will face unfamiliar conditions, heavy security and unpredictable, but talented, opponents when they begin their first Test in Pakistan for 24 years on Friday.

President Joe Biden won standing ovation upon standing ovation Tuesday in a rousing State of the Union speech seeking to transform bipartisan support for confronting Russia into momentum for broader unity as the United States finally emerges from the Covid pandemic.

Beijing's Winter Paralympics open Friday under the shadow of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, with questions remaining over whether athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus will be barred from participating in the Games.

VfB Stuttgart's American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo admits his job involves psychology as much as coaching football in the fight to keep his club in the Bundesliga.

Thousands of Filipinos flocked to churches to observe Ash Wednesday, with Catholic priests and nuns daubing their foreheads with a cross for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The United Nations is to launch formal negotiations on Wednesday for a global treaty to address a plastic trash "epidemic" that supporters say is a historic moment for the planet.

Apple, ExxonMobil and Boeing announced Tuesday in rapid succession steps to withdraw or freeze business in Russia as more US corporate giants take action after the Ukraine invasion.

US credit card giants Visa, Mastercard and American Express said they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Overflowing hospitals, empty supermarket shelves and grim quarantine camps -- Hong Kong is in chaos battling a ballooning Covid outbreak in a business hub once renowned for its efficiency.

The Women's Cricket World Cup begins in New Zealand on Friday, with organisers keen to capitalise on growing interest in the women's game after overcoming a string of pandemic-related hurdles.

Middlesbrough produced another FA Cup shock to extend Tottenham's long wait for silverware with a 1-0 win after extra time at the Riverside on Tuesday, while Manchester City eased into the last eight with a 2-0 victory at Peterborough.

The start of the Major League Baseball season was delayed on Tuesday after marathon labor talks between team owners and players ended in deadlock.

An Indigenous community in Canada said Tuesday it has identified 169 "potential" unmarked graves at a former residential school site, adding to a growing tally of such gruesome discoveries that first rocked the country last year.

Parents of transgender American minors are under investigation in Texas as part of a controversial new order by conservative Governor Greg Abbott, who has deemed the transitioning procedures "child abuse," according to a complaint filed Tuesday.

The European subsidiary of Russia's Sberbank will be wound up after coming under pressure from Western sanctions levelled against the bank in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, European banking regulators said Tuesday.

World oil prices again soared Tuesday while European and US equities sank after investors were unnerved by key crude producer Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Amazon launched its Luna video game streaming service for the general public on Tuesday in the United States, aiming to expand its multi-pronged empire into the booming gaming industry.

Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be allowed to continue competing in ATP and WTA tournaments and Grand Slam events, the sport's governing bodies said on Tuesday.

The government of newly elected Honduran President Xiomara Castro has banned open-pit mining, declaring it harmful to the environment and to people, and said it would scrap permits for such operations.

The three biggest container shipping groups in the world announced Tuesday that they were suspending non-essential deliveries to Russia, adding to the country's economic isolation following a raft of sanctions by the West.

Cryptocurrency purchases in rubles are at a record high following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, raising questions about whether piling into the likes of bitcoin can help Moscow get around sanctions.

Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky hopes he doesn't have to use a gun after joining the fight to protect his country from the Russian invasion.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday announced nationwide seven-and-a-half hour daily power cuts, the longest in more than a quarter of a century, as its foreign exchange crisis leaves it unable to import oil.

Thousands of refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine have arrived in Budapest after abandoning their homes fearing for their lives as they seek safety elsewhere.

A fire in a shopping centre in the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least 11 people early Tuesday, the interior ministry said, in one of the deadliest blazes of recent years.

The Russian military advance on Kyiv has momentarily stalled, hampered by Ukrainian resistance as well as fuel and food shortages, a senior US defense official said Tuesday.

An apparent Russian airstrike aimed at Kyiv's main television tower killed five people on Tuesday, officials said, knocking out some broadcasts but leaving the structure intact.

Afghanistan and Myanmar are vote for a United Nations General Assembly resolution denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to diplomats.

Germany's Munich Philharmonic fired Russian conductor and Kremlin loyalist Valery Gergiev on Tuesday after he failed to denounce Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while a top Russian soprano withdrew from concerts as the fallout from the war engulfed artists.

President Joe Biden will try to reboot his US domestic fortunes Tuesday in a tense State of the Union speech delivered under the shadow of the spiraling confrontation against Russia over Ukraine.

Russian air strikes hit a residential block in Kharkiv and the main TV tower in the capital Kyiv, Ukraine said on Tuesday, as Moscow stepped up attacks despite sanctions and warnings of a humanitarian crisis.

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury accused Dillian Whyte of "showing the white flag" after the challenger failed to attend a press conference on Tuesday ahead of their April 23 WBC title bout at Wembley Stadium.