Socialist candidate in French presidential election selected
Benoit Hamon will be the French Socialist Party's candidate in the presidential elections in April, after winning a run-off vote on Sunday.
The ex-education minister comfortably beat Manuel Valls, a former prime minister, who conceded before the final tally was completed.
With 60% votes counted in the Socialist run-off, Mr Hamon had just over 58% to Mr Valls' 41%.
Taoiseach called to boycott White House on St Patrick's Day
The Taoiseach is being asked to boycott the annual St Patrick's Day visit to the White House following President Donald Trump's controversial 'travel ban' executive order.
Two petitions have garnered almost 30,000 signatures calling on Enda Kenny to skip the state visit in protest of the move.
Opposition parties such as Labour and the Green Party have also joined calls for the Taoiseach to postpone or skip the meeting.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach said it is important "to maintain the historically strong links between the Irish and American peoples" through the annual event.
IKEA refugee shelter is 2016's Design of the Year
A flat-pack refugee shelter designed by Swedish furniture giant IKEA has won an award at the Beazley design competition.
The ready-to-assemble shelter was created by the Swedish furniture giant in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
It beat the new Tate Modern Switch House and the artwork on the cover David Bowie’s last album.
Acclaimed actor John Hurt dies aged 77
Veteran actor John Hurt has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 77.
The renowned British actor starred in more than 200 films and TV series during an illustrious career which spanned six decades.
He was well known to Irish audiences for playing the character Bird O'Donnell in John B Keane's The Field, alongside Richard Harris.
Trump and Putin have first phone call
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump want "real coordination" against Islamic State in Syria, according to the Kremlin.
In their first conversation since Mr Trump's inauguration, the Kremlin said in a statement that "both sides showed their readiness for active, joint work to stabilise and develop Russian-American cooperation".
