President Michael D Higgins is among those who've paid tribute to former Bishop of Galway Eamon Casey.

The 89 year old died at a County Clare nursing home this afternoon, following a lengthy illness.

Archbishop Eamon Martin said his ministry, as a priest and bishop, was of immense significance.

A statement from Bishop Casey's family - including his son Peter - described him as "a great source of love and support".

Bishop Casey resigned in disgrace in 1992, after it emerged he had fathered a child with American woman Annie Murphy.

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Britain's House of Lords is continuing to debate the UK's exit from the European Union.

The bill is now likely to complete its passage through Parliament late tonight.

There was speculation that Theresa May would move immediately to start Brexit tomorrow after gaining legal authority, but a spokesperson now says that's unlikely.

One of the rejected changes was on guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.

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Ex-Leinster, Connacht and Harlequins out half Andrew Dunne has narrowed down on one of the issues that held Ireland back in attack against Wales.

Speaking on Off The Ball in the wake of 22-9 Six Nations in which the lack of cutting edge in attack came under scrutiny, Dunne pointed out the role of forwards and feels it's a "simple fix" to recfity. 

"I think we are almost exclusively a better attacking team when our first receiver off a breakdown is not a forward," he said.

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In Russia, a group of young activists supported by the Kremlin have moved away from their political roots to focus on social media, taking on the challenge of bucking a trend of so-called teen suicide games on the Internet.

Founded in 2005 by President Vladimir Putin, the Young Guard was originally set up as a way to encourage young people to engage in civics and public service. But in recent years, a subgroup, billed as the Media Guard, has seen young people across the Russian Federation policing online content that allegedly promotes self-harm, drug use, and any kind of gay behaviour among people under 18.

But now the Media Guard has a new target, namely the highly contentious ‘Blue Whale’ online movement; in February, English-language websites first started reporting about a trend of Russian teenagers engaging is an online game that ends with the participants taking their own lives.

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President Donald Trump's chief adviser Kellyanne Conway said she is "not in the job of having evidence" on his claims that the Obama administration spied on him.

Speaking on CNN, she countered a previous response she made to the Bergen Record saying "you can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets — any number of ways".

“I was answering a question about surveillance techniques generally,” she told host Chris Cuomo. “I was reflecting what people saw in the news last week, several articles about how we can surveil each other generally.”

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Fianna Fáil is to publish a roadmap aimed at strengthening links between the Republic and Northern Ireland - which could help prepare the way for a referendum on the reunification of the island.

The party’s leader, Micheál Martin believes reunification could become a reality within his lifetime – but warned that serious groundwork would have to be undertaken to prepare the way.

A Fianna Fáil white paper examining ways to strengthen economic, political and educational links on both sides of the border is to be published within months.

The 12-point plan will aim to develop cross-Border ties as the prospect of Brexit looms - and examine what might happen following any reunification referendum.