A humanitarian convoy carrying Irish-donated ambulances to Uganda has drawn a midlands garda sergeant into a mission aimed at easing suffering for some of east Africa’s most vulnerable patients. Organised by Hope on Wheels, the effort has brought together more than 20 volunteers to drive 11 ambulances 1,200km from Mombasa in Kenya to Kampala in Uganda. Among them is Sergeant Paul McNally, a Co Offaly native who has been based in Athlone since 2018. "When I heard about this opportunity I didn't hesitate," he said. "Thousands…

Europe is moving to sharpen its deportation powers after EU lawmakers and member states struck a deal on rules that would let countries send migrants ordered to leave the bloc to centres in third countries. The agreement marks part of a wider hardening of EU migration policy as right‑wing parties intensify pressure across the continent, despite a 26% drop in irregular arrivals last year to the lowest level recorded since 2021. The legislation, which still needs formal sign‑off from EU governments and the European Parliament,…

The Trump administration can, for now, keep transgender people from joining the US military, a federal appeals court has ruled, while stopping the government from removing those already in uniform as the legal fight continues. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the 2025 policy was unlawfully driven "by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group". Still, the court said the Pentagon holds sweeping authority to decide who may enlist, allowing the military…

Confusion deepened around US-Iran diplomacy after President Donald Trump insisted negotiations were still moving ahead, even as an Iranian state-linked report said Tehran had put indirect talks with Washington on hold. "Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post. Earlier, Iran's state news agency Tasnim reported that Tehran was suspending indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered its forces to advance further ‌into Lebanon. Speaking by…

Russia unleashed air attacks on several of Ukraine’s biggest cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 60, officials said, after days of warnings that Moscow was preparing a large-scale assault. The strikes came as the war, now more than four years old, continues to batter critical infrastructure on both sides. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power network and other vital facilities, while Ukraine has intensified attacks this year on Russian oil sites. Both sides…

Even before he arrived in Washington, Peter Mandelson was making a personal pledge: appoint him as Britain’s ambassador to the US, he wrote, and the government would “never regret” it. That assurance has now surfaced in a fresh cache of official papers released alongside thousands of documents about the controversial posting. The government published the second batch of records this afternoon, shedding more light on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the high-profile Washington role to Mr Mandelson…

The threat of a wider war sharpened on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned US President Donald Trump that Israel would hit Beirut if Hezbollah kept up attacks on Israeli communities. "I spoke with President Trump this evening and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our towns and our citizens, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement from his office. "Our position on this issue has not changed. At the same time, the IDF will continue…

Russia has denounced France's seizure of an oil tanker in the Atlantic, calling the operation "illegal" and likening it to "piracy" after Paris said the ship was breaching sanctions. "We view these actions as illegal; they verge on international piracy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo." French prosecutors said the tanker's Russian captain refused to obey orders from the French navy, leaving authorities with no choice but to board and take control…

Rwanda has lost its bid to force the UK to hand over more than £100m (€115m) tied to the collapsed migrant deportation pact, after an international court found Britain did not owe the outstanding money. Judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that the UK was not liable for two years of unpaid costs linked to the scheme, which was abandoned in 2024. The agreement was struck in 2022, when former UK prime minister Boris Johnson signed a deal with Kigali to send to Rwanda migrants who arrived in…

What should have been a jubilant procession through north London also tested emergency crews, with about 75 people rescued from height and 16 arrests made during Arsenal’s parade yesterday, officials said. Thousands of Arsenal supporters packed the streets around the Emirates Stadium to watch the team take part in their Premier League trophy parade. As clouds of red smoke drifted through the area, some fans scrambled up trees, rooftops and traffic lights in a bid to catch a glimpse of the players aboard the team bus. London…