Beef talks resume

Roundtable talks on beef prices row. Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney will convene the fourth meeting of the Beef Forum following the cessation of protests by the Irish Farmers Association over low beef prices.

The 48 hour protest over beef prices ended on Tuesday with farmers vowing to return to factories if the price of beef does not increase.

Mairia Cahill and allegations of IRA sex abuse

Water protests and allegations of tax evasion have turned the public and press glare on to the government in the last week, but tomorrow afternoon the opposition will again be

Allegations made by Mairia Cahill and others are due to be discussed in the Dáil on Wednesday afternoon.

The issue has been a major problem for Sinn Féin since the BBC Spotlight programme aired last month, and the evolution of events.

There are reports this evening that several TDs are considering using Dáil privilege to name alleged abusers suspected of being moved to the Republic after allegations of sexual abuse conducted in the North.

The first landing on a comet?

Their mission has been 10 years in the making and on Wednesday a spacecraft will attempt a landing on a comet, for the first time in history.

The robotic lander is due to harpoon itself to the comet's icy surface tomorrow morning. The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe has been flying around comet 67P since August, looking for a landing spot for Philae, the tiny landing craft that will create history if all goes according to plan.

It will be one of the most daring moves in space exploration history and if it comes off the team – including Irish scientist Laurence O’Rourke – will take a step that could prove crucial to helping scientists understand if it may have been a wayward comet(s) that transported life to earth billions of years ago.

The descent by Philae to the comet is due to begin at roughly 9am Irish time, with landing scheduled for 4pm.