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

A police raid on a Rio de Janeiro slum erupted into an intense firefight Friday, leaving eight alleged drug traffickers dead, authorities said.

As a pioneer in so-called attribution science -- establishing a link between extreme weather and climate change -- Friederike Otto is adamant that the rising toll of heatwaves and hurricanes cannot be explained by global warming alone.

Nearly 200 nations kick off a virtual meeting Monday to finalise what promises to be a harrowing scientific overview of accelerating climate impacts that will highlight the urgent need to cut emissions -- and prepare for the challenges ahead.

The conservative right-wing challenger to Emmanuel Macron in the looming French presidential vote grappled Friday with a wave of defections, while hoping former president Nicolas Sarkozy would finally offer his full-throated support.

West Ham manager David Moyes says Kurt Zouma will be available for Sunday's Premier League match at Leicester despite the controversy over the defender's cruel treatment of his cat.

England cricket chiefs on Friday lifted a ban on staging international matches imposed on Yorkshire after a racism scandal that rocked the game.

One of the pioneering Jamaican bobsleigh team which first competed at the 1988 Winter Games and inspired the movie "Cool Runnings" has big plans for racers from the Caribbean island at future Olympics.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho says it would be the "greatest mistake" to underestimate Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final as they bid to become the third English winners of the trophy.

England coach Eddie Jones is adamant that Italy are making "rapid progress" even though his much-changed side will be overwhelming favourites to inflict more Six Nations misery on the Azzurri.

Italy head coach Kieran Crowley has made three changes for this weekend's Six Nations game with Italy, the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) announced on Friday.

European Commissioner Ylva Johansson on Friday offered to deploy the EU's border agency to Senegal to help combat migrant smuggling, following a surge in perilous crossings to Spain's Canary Islands.

Thousands of protesters in convoys were heading to Paris from across France on Friday, with some hoping to blockade the capital in opposition to Covid restrictions despite police warnings to back off.

In Europe, the minister overseeing migration is one of the hardest jobs in politics. In Belgium, the job is held by Sammy Mahdi, the son of an Iraqi political refugee.

Ireland fans can take heart for this weekend's Six Nations clash with France that Johnny Sexton's replacement as captain James Ryan "grows as a person when things get tough", scrum coach John Fogarty said on Friday.

Italy took another step towards normality Friday with the reopening of nightclubs and the end of a requirement to wear masks outside, as the number of coronavirus cases eases.

Bahrain will host Formula One until at least 2036 after signing a 10-year contract extension, officials said on Friday.

Ben Youngs has been kept waiting to equal the England cap record after coach Eddie Jones named him among the replacements for Sunday's Six Nations match away to Italy.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hailed Luis Diaz's dynamic Premier League debut as one of the best he has seen from a new player.

World stock markets fell Friday on fears the Federal Reserve will move more aggressively to tighten monetary policy to tame decades-high inflation.

Thousands of Iranians drove through Tehran on Friday to mark the 43rd anniversary of the country's Islamic Revolution, staying in vehicles rather than marching on foot amid Covid restrictions.

Britain on Friday said it had accepted changes proposed by Google to address competition and customer privacy concerns linked to online advertising, with the US tech giant vowing to apply them globally.

He made perhaps the most famous French film of the century so far in "Amelie", but Jean-Paul Jeunet was forced to turn to Netflix after failing to find a traditional backer for his new movie.

Russia on Friday said French President Emmanuel Macron was made to sit at an enormously long table for his talks with Vladimir Putin because he refused to take a Kremlin-performed Covid test.

Thousands of protesters in "Freedom Convoys" were heading to Paris from across France on Friday, hoping to blockade the capital in opposition to Covid restrictions despite police warnings to back off.

Seven-time Tour de France green jersey winner Peter Sagan's new team TotalEngergies has earned one of the two team invitations allocated for this year's edition.

Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva has failed a drugs test, as doping reared its head at the Beijing Winter Games on Friday.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino does not believe Kylian Mbappe's future will be influenced by their Champions League last 16 tie with Real Madrid.

Ben McDermott smacked 53 to top score as Australia put on 149 for nine in the opening Twenty20 clash against Sri Lanka in Sydney on Friday, with leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga taking three wickets.

Tom Rosenthal is a 35-year-old singer-songwriter from London. He had already built a decent career over a decade, but when he joined TikTok in 2020 he said the impact was "seismic".

Libyans found themselves with two prime ministers on Friday, raising the spectre of renewed violence in a country where elites have ignored the wishes of citizens to choose their leaders, analysts say.

West Ham manager David Moyes is in the spotlight ahead of his side's trip to Leicester on Sunday, with the build-up overshadowed by the fallout from a video showing defender Kurt Zouma physically abusing his cat.

The New York Times pulled a video Friday showing a Taiwan-based writer making a "Singaporean chicken curry" after furious critics in the city-state said it resembled sewage rather than a local dish.