Military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan restarted early this morning after the runway at Kabul airport was cleared of thousands of people desperate to flee after the Taliban seized the capital.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will join his EU counterparts for emergency talks via videolink later today on the unfolding developments in Afghanistan.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation under strict lockdown after one new case of the coronavirus was reported in its largest city of Auckland, the country's first in six months.

The response to the Covid-19 vaccination programme has been "phenomenal", according to the HSE's national lead for the programme.

American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan is being sued in a New York court by a woman who says he sexually abused her almost 60 years ago when she was 12.

Northern Ireland's Department of Health has announced a "Big Jab Weekend" to encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Thousands of people, including tourists in campsites, have been evacuated to escape a wildfire raging near the resort of Saint-Tropez in southern France, the fire service has said.

Bus manufacturer Wrightbus is to create up to 300 permanent jobs after winning a number of orders from Ireland and the UK, the firm has said.

Doctors in Haiti battled in makeshift tents to save the lives of hundreds of injured people, including young children and the elderly, outside hospitals overwhelmed by an earthquake that killed at least 1,419 people.

The swift collapse of the Afghan government has reinforced President Joe Biden's argument that nothing more could have been done. But was the Taliban's victory inevitable?

The United States plans to begin administering Covid-19 booster shots next month, pending authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration, a source has said.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has welcomed the Government's statement regarding visa applications from Afghanistan.

An Irish woman currently in Kabul has said she is hoping she will be able to leave and return home in the next 48 hours.

US President Joe Biden has said the mission of the United States in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation-building as he defended his decision to pull out US troops from the country.

The Department of Health has reported 1,558 new coronavirus cases. There are 262 people being treated in hospital with the virus, 51 of whom are in intensive care.

Doctors and aid workers rushed to get flights or transport to southwestern Haiti, ahead of a storm, to reach areas flattened by a major earthquake that killed at least 1,419 people and injured thousands more in the Caribbean nation.

These photos show the aftermath of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which hit the Caribean island of Haiti on 14 August 2021.

New evidence shows that patients with Long Covid continue to have higher measures of blood clotting, which may help explain their persistent symptoms, such as reduced physical fitness and fatigue.

A woman in her 20s has died following a road traffic incident on the N69 road near Tralee in Kerry.