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Irish Times

In the current issue · 38

Trump announces partial ceasefire in Ukraine war, but Zelenskiy says deal is ‘news to me’

Donald Trumppresident
Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,
If President Trump negotiated it with Putin — please tell us when the ceasefire begins. We are ready and we will accept it,
Oleksandr Merezhkoukrainian lawyer and jurist
Putin’s plan is to decapitate Zelenskiy and remove him as a wartime leader. Trump is siding with Putin,
It is possible to stop strikes on energy infrastructure as early as today, but (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not want to do so,
Russia should agree to an immediate energy ceasefire, ending its brutal strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and its attacks on shipping in the Black Sea,
Oleksandr Merezhkoukrainian lawyer and jurist
We are moving to a new Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and to a world of strongmen and spheres of influence.”
It felt like a trap,
This would be an act of complicity with Putin’s genocide. It would mean more dead civilians and dead children,

Riyadh airport hit again after deadly Houthi missile attack

Ursula von der Leyeneuropean Commission President
These attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence,
Donald Trumppresident
We’re gonna look at it.”
I will underline that Iran’s attacks on its neighbours must cease and that safe and toll-free shipping through the Straits of Hormuz must be restored,

Irishman among 300 injured as 12 die in attack at Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia

Donald Trumppresident
We may. We’re going to look at it.”
I was on gate 403,
Mohammed Saeed Al-Jabersaudi diplomat and politician
Blessed Friday and victory for every Yemeni and Arab. Bab al-Mandab has been cleared of the remnants of the Houthi terrorist militia.”

Pope Leo says he will undergo surgery for small growth on lung

During some check-ups, doctors discovered a localized nodule on my lung,
I would like to express to the Holy Father my personal support, and that of the Italian government, as he faces this challenge in the coming days.”
The serenity and composure with which he spoke about it [today] …are reassuring,

Trump and Hegseth’s road to barbarism is a threat to America’s standing

Revulsion at the media frenzy and carnival-style atmosphere led to a US ban on public executions that has stuck for 90 years

Pete Hegsethdefense Secretary
People need to understand that there are serious consequences for these type of things,
Pete Hegsethdefense Secretary
Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armour of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual,

Ireland may not have the death penalty, but we have no reason for complacency

Born to an alcoholic mother, Pike has foetal alcohol syndrome, was neglected and brutally beaten in childhood, sexually abused from the age of two and subjected separately to at least three rapes by the age of 17

Christa Pike, who survived US execution attempt, is discharged from hospital

What's been described to me is that physically there's quite a bit going on, that her arms are very injured and she's not able to use them very much,
I think it’s kind of good and bad. Good that she is fairly with it, but she’s also somewhat foggy. She can lose her train of thought really easily and forgets where she’s going.”

Houthis show military reach with deadly missile strikes on Riyadh

The latest attack on Saturday, the third on the airport in a week, killed 12 people and wounded more than 300, part of a tit-for-tat military escalation by the Houthis against the beleaguered Saudis, who support Yemen’s internationally recognised government

The recent successes that we’ve seen in the last four weeks or so have less to do with having great military equipment and more to do with the weakness of the other side,
Control of this island is potentially quite important,
Mohammad Al-Bashapalestinian association football player
They didn’t start from scratch, they had a foundation,
Farea Al-Muslimiyemeni writer
Everyone continues to underestimate the Houthis’ military power,
They’re not just guys in flip-flops, they’re actually geeks,

Russell Brand arrives at court for start of rape and sexual assault trial

Flanked by security and accompanied by his wife, Laura Gallacher, Brand said nothing to members of the press as he walked into the courthouse

‘A slow-moving tsunami’: IMF chief alarmed at AI threat to jobs and taxes

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of the disruptive threat from artificial intelligence to the labour market and taxation, urging policymakers to rethink education and act now to help society adapt

Kristalina GeorgievaiMF Managing Director
It is a slow-moving tsunami, but [a] tsunami nonetheless,
We cannot today imagine what exactly the world of work will be five years from now,

Engineer Robert Pether back in Ireland after being detained in Iraq for five years

Pether, who had been living in Ireland for a number of years, had been working as a mechanical engineer on rebuilding the Iraqi Central Bank when he was arrested with a colleague from CME Consulting, the Dubai-based company they were working for

The Australian government welcomes the decision by the Iraqi government to allow Mr Pether to leave,
We were aware for some time that minister Wong was keen to be the first to break this fantastic news,
Mr Pether was detained in a [2x2 metre] cell with the lights permanently on,

The Irish Times view on the EU and China: a fragile peace on trade

The European Union and China have averted a trade war with an agreement that saw Beijing agree to limit exports of hybrid cars, facilitate the supply of rare earths and cut tariffs on a range of European products

Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher unmoved by ‘devastated’ Micah Richards on Sky Sports

Jamie Carragherenglish associiation football player and sportcaster
They are so powerful, so rich, they’ve never been told no before in their lives,
Jamie Carragherenglish associiation football player and sportcaster
There’s all these lovely stories, ‘I came through the youth team’, lovely, it’s lovely,
Roy Keaneirish football manager (born 1971)
Let’s hope they get beaten,
THEY HAD ALL THE BEST PLAYERS — THEY HAD THE TWO BEST PLAYERS IN EVERY POSITION!”

Manchester City win at Liverpool in face of Anfield taunts

It was always going to be like this as City feel their way into a new reality, one conditioned by the guilty verdicts handed to them by an independent commission on virtually all of the 100-plus charges they have faced for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules

AI being used by employers to more closely monitor their staff, Dublin conference hears

What’s happening varies across different sectors,
So we need to be concerned not just about the jobs that are being or might be lost but also about the way jobs are changing,
They feel they work more and do higher value work but they are not getting more pay or time off so there is a sense the productivity gains are all going to the employer when they could be shared through shorter hours, reduced workloads or investment on worker development,

Meath’s Nichola Sheridan finishes third in Melbourne Marathon

Her breakthrough came in winning the Dublin City Half Marathon in March 2025, representing Bohermeen AC

Liverpool v Manchester City is no longer simply a football match

This club with two league titles — 1937 and 1968 — in their 104 years before being acquired by Abu Dhabi, won eight more between 2012 and 2024

Taiwan fears for US support as Trump and Xi prepare for fresh talks

In brilliant sunshine and scorching heat, Taiwan on Saturday celebrated its annual October 10 holiday with an event outside the presidential palace in Taipei featuring lion dances and other traditional arts as well as a military parade

The US attitude towards Taiwan has always been US does not support Taiwan independence and China wanted to push for the US to oppose Taiwan’s independence. I think probably for Donald Trump, there’s no big difference but in the diplomatic world, there’s a huge difference,
Fang-Yu Chentaiwanese political scientist
The most difficult part is that we don’t have a choice. We have to rely on the US,
If the KMT does well in these elections, that will be momentum for their 2028 presidential ticket. And that will probably also determine who will be on the ticket,
I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,
We have to offer a unification formula which sounds really nice, but Beijing cannot accept,
We always talk about Taiwan being a value ally of the US: democracy, freedom, human rights — about which Donald Trump doesn’t give a s**t,
I think in Taiwan, we have to come up with something to avoid a military confrontation. And then somehow saving some money for defence, that would benefit us, right?”
I think US arms sales always carries two senses for us. One is symbolically. It is a symbol of whether the US supports Taiwan or especially Taiwan’s defence. So I think no matter the amount of the sales, we really want the US to continue to sell arms to Taiwan,