A record amount of corporation tax and an underspend by some Government departments will deliver a much lower deficit in the public finances than forecast, according to a pre-budget White Paper published by the Department of Finance.

China's President Xi Jinping has said a "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan "will be and can be realised", days after Chinese warplanes made record incursions into the air defence zone of the democratically ruled island.

One of the few positive aspects of the recent controversy over Sláintecare, is that it has placed a big spotlight on the promised health reforms.

A US federal appeals court has ruled that Texas could resume its ban on most abortions, two days after another court suspended the ban.

US technology firm Apple has appealed a federal judge's verdict in its legal battle with the video game and software developer, Epic Games, over control of the App Store, where iPhone users go to purchase digital goods or services.

Russian authorities said that 26 people had died from alcohol poisoning this week after consuming locally-produced spirits in the Orenburg region bordering Kazakhstan.

Stronger growth, more in taxes and many, many demands on the public purse is going to make sticking to spending limits tricky, politically, writes Robert Shortt.

The United States and the Taliban will this weekend hold their first in-person talks since the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

As the country emerges from the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, the people of Ireland will be hoping Budget 2022 will provide some relief.

Australia was bracing for more Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations, officials said, even as it moves toward gradually easing pandemic restrictions with the vast majority of its people getting vaccinated against the virus.

A hundred years ago today, the Irish leaders set out for London to achieve the impossible: They had just a few weeks to achieve the freedom Ireland had sought for centuries.

President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to musician and broadcaster Tony MacMahon, who has died aged 82.

The Department of Health has been notified of a further 2,002 cases of Covid-19, with 354 people in hospital.

Several thousand homeowners affected by mica have marched through Dublin City Centre this afternoon.

Doors have closed for the last time this afternoon at 88 Bank Of Ireland branches around the country.

Childcare is to get a boost in next week's Budget, the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has indicated, saying the costs are like a "second mortgage" for many families.

Facebook has apologised to users for a two-hour disruption to its services this evening, and has blamed another faulty configuration change for its second global outage this week.

Rallies around the country saw farmers gather in Cavan, Roscommon, Laois and Cork as they voice their concerns about the future of Irish agriculture ahead of next week's budget.

Mica is a naturally occurring mineral that has left thousands of Irish homeowners living in a nightmare scenario, which is likely to cost the State billions of euro.

The OECD has announced that 136 countries have signed up to a new international agreement on corporate tax rules.