The Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr Cillian De Gascun, has said it is inevitable that a variant of the virus which was first detected in the UK will become the dominant variant here over time.

Joe Biden's top aide said the incoming US president would sign about a dozen executive orders on his first day in office, as police fearing violence from Donald Trump supporters staged a nationwide security operation ahead of the inauguration.

Attitudes towards unmarried mothers are illustrated throughout the pages of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation report, though survivors did not need to read it to know about stigma.

A survivor of Bessborough mother-and-baby home in Cork has criticised a finding of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes that there is "no evidence of injury to the children involved as a result of the vaccines".

Arch Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny returns to Russia from Germany today, facing imminent arrest after authorities warned they would detain him for violating a sentence over alleged fraud.

Last week's events and the ongoing threat to security, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic mean next Wednesday's inauguration of the 46th president of the United States will look and feel very different to any that has gone before it.

If you are one of the 700,000 employees now working from your home office, kitchen table or indeed bedroom, you could be entitled to claim the e-workers tax relief.

Over 2,000 student nurses and midwives are to have their clinical placements suspended for at least two weeks in order to free up qualified supervisory staff for frontline duties in hospitals.

The Chief Executive of the HSE has said the hospital system is tightening up as the numbers being treated for Covid-19 increases.

Around 1,800 frontline medical workers are receiving a Covid-19 vaccine as part of a targeted vaccination programme this weekend.

Talks will continue next week about the reopening of schools for students with special educational needs on Thursday after the union representing Special Needs Assistants said an agreement on the issue has not been finalised.

Moderate Armin Laschet has been elected as the head of Germany's conservative CDU party.

Many people are doing a lot more walking during lockdown, but today Mandy Finlay reached her goal of one million steps for charity.

Three new variants of Covid-19 have been causing concern in recent times. One that was first detected in the UK, another in South Africa and more recently a variant that was detected in Brazil. But what are variants and should we be worried about th...

Ferry operator Stena Line is to further increase its freight capacity direct from Ireland to continental Europe in response to increased post-Brexit demand by adding a new weekend sailing from Dublin to Cherbourg.

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said Covid-19 has "taken root in every single part of the country" and that the levels of infection are still "far too high".

The Director of Public Health for the North East has said the region has been hit by unprecedented levels of the virus and the "war is not over yet" in stopping the spread of the infection.

The parents of a 12-year-old boy with autism have called for an end to the uncertainty over the re-opening of special schools and the re-opening of classes for children with additional needs.

Two weeks into Brexit, problems are mounting and recriminations are flying in all directions. The reality of Brexit is proving every bit as toxic as the four-and-a-half-year slog that got us to this point.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won a decisive re-election victory today, elections officials said, but his main rival Bobi Wine alleged widespread fraud and said citizens should reject the result.