Barnier “not optimistic” about avoiding no-deal Brexit

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said he's "not optimistic" about avoiding a no-deal Brexit.

He has written an article in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper suggesting the Irish backstop is the "maximum amount of flexibility that the EU can offer to a non-member state".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted the backstop - an 'insurance policy' aimed at avoiding a hard border in Ireland - must be dropped in any Brexit deal.

That demand has been rejected by the EU, who've said no credible alternatives have been put forward by the UK.

‘Large number’ of cars destroyed in Cork fire

Officials in Cork are surveying the damage following a major blaze at Douglas Village Shopping Centre yesterday evening.

12 fire appliances attended the scene from across Cork City and County, after a car caught fire in a multi-storey car park.

The centre was quickly evacuated and there were no injuries.

The fire has been extinguished, but crews remain at the scene this morning to monitor the building and continue dampening down efforts.

At least seven dead in Texas terror attack

At least seven people were killed and 21 others injured when a shooter opened fire in west Texas.

The shootings happened in the twin cities of Midland and Odessa on Saturday afternoon.

At around 3:17pm, an officer was shot when he attempted to stop a gold Honda vehicle on a highway between the two cities.

The driver - described as a white male in his 30s - fled the scene and is reported to have shot a number of people at random in Odessa.

“Catastrophic” Hurricane Dorian strengthens

Hurricane Dorian has been upgraded to a category 5 storm as it approaches the northwestern Bahamas.

The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the the "catastrophic hurricane" will shortly hit the Abaco Islands with "devastating winds".

Dorian is moving across the Atlantic with sustained winds of up to 260km/h.

The storm's is forecast to hit Grand Bahama Island later tonight and tomorrow, and move closer to the Florida east coast on Monday and Tuesday.

Demonstrators call for pedestrianisation of Dublin’s Lower Liffey Street

Transport and environmental protesters are blocking Dublin’s Lower Liffey Street from traffic today in a ‘car-free’ protest.

It follows a similar blockade of South William Street last month by “The Streets Are For People" group.

The city council announced plans to pedestrianise Lower Liffey Street earlier this year, but some businesses said they would oppose the move.

The Dublin City Traders Alliance has suggested the development "would result in a significant impact upon traffic movement in the city".