Latest from RTÉ News
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities but also has sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and Regional officials. "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Iran has said it is targeting military and defense-related sites in Israel, but it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict. "Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said. The role of the United States, meanwhile, remained uncertain. In Washington, Mr Lammy met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and said they discussed a possible deal. Mr Witkoff has spoken with Mr Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Mr Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Mr Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Mr Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. But activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they're unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. "How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Glory and gory be! 28 Years Later is
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland mix the gory with political allegory and a touching family drama in this riveting zombie thriller After great early promise in 2002 with 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle's zombie franchise looked like it was going to reanimate a moribund movie cliché but it all stumbled and shuddered to an ignoble halt with the delayed and frankly awful follow-up 28 Weeks Later. Now prefaced by much "is he/isn't he?" speculation about whether Cillian Murphy would reprise his role from the first movie (he isn't), Boyle is back at his maverick best with this deeply creepy return to form which reignites the twitchy paranoia and dread of the original. And glory and gory be - writer Alex Garland, and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle also return, as does Murphy but as executive producer and not having taken his Oppenheimer diet to extremes to play a member of the emaciated massive. They have conjured up a fever dream of a film that somehow looks like a cross pollination of Mike Leigh realism, and the sickening surrealism of Straw Dogs and The Wicker Man. We are now on Holy Island off the northeast coast of England, 28 years after the accidental release of a highly contagious virus which caused the breakdown of society and turned infected folk into slavering maniacs with The Rage. Perfidious Albion is now in a state of not so splendid isolation and in quarantine patrolled by European vessels. Garland and Boyle do not hold back on gleeful commentary about the contemporary UK's perilous state, cut-off politically and culturally from the continent and muddling along with a sense of misplaced exceptionalism and proud independence. This post-apocalyptic vision of ye olde merrie future England comes shot through with the look and feel of the fabled lost 1950s Britain beloved of Reform voters and Brexiteers. So political allegory and gore is the order of the day; In the island's village hall a tapestry of a young Queen Elizabeth II in her coronation year takes pride of place and Boyle uses clips from Laurence Olivier's Henry V and wartime newsreel footage of the Blitz to underline the fortress Britain atmosphere. Later, we see the flag of St George in flames. Bow and arrows are the weapon of choice; everyone is dressed in ragamuffin chic and the island looks like it's devolved back to medieval England. Or maybe Féile '90. Wrapped in that grim tableau is a touching family drama concerning 12-year-old Spike (a very impressive Alfie Williams) and his parents, Isla (Jodie Comer - great as usual), who is suffering from a mysterious illness that causes huge trauma and grief for her doting son, and Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a scavenger and survivalist given to flashes of his own type of rage. We first meet Spike on what will be a big day for him. He is about to be taken across the causeway that connects the island to the still contaminated mainland on his first sortie among the infected; a rite of passage that will test his mettle and see him take his place within the village hierarchy. Once across the causeway, the action clicks with an unforgiving ferocity and father and son barely make it home after a gripping moonlit dash back across the causeway as the tide goes out. As we have seen from the first two movies in the series, these zombies are not the shambling husks of B-movie lore but fleet of foot savages who pose a genuine threat. However, Garland and Boyle also introduce two new breeds of zombie - obese, sluggish creatures who forage about on the forest floor and have a nasty talent for creeping up on their prey, and Alphas, muscular pack leaders who take a lot to kill. When Spike hears about the mysterious Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), an eccentric former GP who has remained uninfected and choses to live on the mainland, he sees him as a salvation for his sick mother and so he spirits her back across to the mainland much to the anger of the island's elders and his stricken father. Once we are back off the island, the movie takes on a semi-mystical air with impressionistic riddles and symbols and spiritual ceremony surrounding Dr Kelson. He is clearly the Col Kurtz of the piece, a shamanic witch doctor of sorts, who tends to his very own bone orchard and has his own way of dealing with the infected marauders. The sense of loss is everywhere. There are haunting and very moving glimpses of Anthony Gormley's Angel of the North sculpture rearing starkly from the landscape like the Statue Of Liberty in The Planet of The Apes and a very poignant shot of the now felled tree in the Sycamore Gap at Hadrian's Wall. A brief appearance by Edvin Ryding as a sardonic Swedish NATO soldier, who has been shipwrecked off the coast, adds another dose of dark humour to a movie which is surprisingly funny as well as disturbing. Scottish band Young Fathers provide a pumping but abstract soundtrack for what is a multi-layered, poetic and lyrical movie but with plenty of the comic book gore beloved of fans of the franchise. Arrows fly and slice through zombie flesh and that mad dash across the causeway is exhilarating. Full of strange images and taut action scenes, Boyle has said he wanted a sense of "suffocating intensity" to the film and he really does achieve it The bravado closing sequence, which strangely reminded me of some groovy sixties rock `n' roll flick starring Oliver Reed, includes a crowd-pleasing cameo and sets things up smoothly for the next instalment. If it's as good as this acrid, kerosene-choked thrill ride, we're in for another treat.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Violence against children hit 'unprecedented levels' in 2024
From Gaza to the Democratic Republic of Congo, violence against children in conflict zones reached "unprecedented levels" in 2024, a United Nations annual report said Thursday. "In 2024, violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels, with a staggering 25 percent surge in the number of grave violations in comparison with 2023," according to the report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The report verified 41,370 grave violations against children in 2024 - including 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed previously but confirmed in 2024 - the highest number since the monitoring tool was established nearly 30 years ago. The new high beats 2023, another record year, which represented a 21% increase over the preceding year. With more than 4,500 killed and 7,000 injured, children continue to bear "the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks," the report said. There was also a marked increase in the number of child victims of multiple violations to 22,495. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball - but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings - should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, special representative of the UN secretary-general for children and armed conflict. "This must serve as a wake-up call. We are at the point of no return." In its annual report, the UN compiles violations of the rights of children, those aged under 18, in some 20 conflict zones around the world. In its appendix, a "list of shame" calls out those responsible for these violations - a powerful coalition of Haitian gangs was added this year - which include child killings and mutilations, recruitment to violence, kidnappings, denial of humanitarian aid and sexual violence. The Israeli armed forces, which were named last year along with Palestinian militant group Hamas, remain on the list. Conflict casualties The Palestinian territories occupy the top spot in the dismal rankings, with more than 8,500 serious violations, the vast majority attributed to Israeli forces, including more than 4,800 in Gaza. This figure includes confirmation of 1,259 Palestinian children killed in Gaza, and the UN notes it is currently verifying information on an additional 4,470 children killed in 2024 in the war-torn territory. The report also calls out Israel's military operations in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were killed or injured last year. Following the Palestinian territories, the countries where the UN recorded the most violence against children in 2024 are: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (more than 4,000 grave violations), Somalia (more than 2,500), Nigeria (nearly 2,500), and Haiti (more than 2,200). "List of shame" inductees include Haitian gang coalition "Viv Ansanm," blamed for a 490 percent increase in violations, including child recruitment, murders and gang rapes. Another addition to the list is Colombian drug cartel Clan del Golfo, which is accused of child recruitment. Colombia in general recorded a significant increase in cases of forced recruitment, with 450 children in 2024 compared to 262 the previous year. Remaining on the list are the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting in Sudan for more than two years. Also listed again is the Russian army for its actions in Ukraine, where the report records a 105 percent increase in serious violations between 2023 and 2024.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Moneypoint Power Station to end coal burning after 40 years
After 40 years of operation ESB is to cease burning coal at its Moneypoint Power Station in Co Clare from today. However, the plant will continue to provide security of supply for Ireland's electricity system by operating as a back-up out-of-market generator of last resort for Eirgrid. It will use heavy oil for electricity generation in place of coal for the next four years. ESB is continuing the transformation of its Moneypoint power station, at Kilrush in Co Clare, into a renewable energy hub by ending the use of coal for electricity generation six months earlier than planned. It is a significant milestone in the organisation's Net Zero carbon emissions strategy. Two years ago, it signed an agreement with EirGrid to keep the plant generating electricity using oil from 2025 up to 2029. It will only be required to operate when the electricity system is short of generating capacity, and only under instruction from EirGrid. Oil generation is less carbon intensive than coal generation, and the station is expected to see significantly less running during this four-year period. Moneypoint will remain a key site for ESB and for the Mid-West region as the station evolves and transforms to support the Irish government to achieve its climate targets. ESB commenced its transition away from fossil fuel generation at Moneypoint in 2017 with the construction of a 17MW onshore wind farm. In 2021, it announced Green Atlantic at Moneypoint, a multi-billion-euro plan to transform the site into one of the country's largest renewable energy hubs, utilising its deep-water port and existing infrastructure. Phase one of this plan was completed in 2022 with a €50 million investment in Ireland's first synchronous compensator, a zero-carbon technology that allows the system to utilise ever increasing amounts of use of renewable electricity. The Moneypoint power station has been operating since the mid 1980s. It contains three separate coal-fired power generating units, capable of producing up to 305 MW of electricity each, giving the plant a total electricity generation capacity of 915 MW. At its peak of operation, it was capable of supplying about a quarter of Ireland's total electricity needs. However, in recent years its contribution has been significantly lower than that. Before the Moneypoint station was built Ireland was very heavily dependent on imported oil for the generation of electricity. However, the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, and the crippling shortages that resulted, underscored domestic and international fears about the security of that oil supply. It was because of that it was considered a good idea to include a substantial coal-fired power station in the electricity production mix. Coal is the most carbon intensive of all fossil fuels and is about 25% more carbon intensive per unit of electricity generated than Heavy Fuel Oil it replaced. However, back in the 1980's when Moneypoint was commissioned very little attention was paid to the issue of carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels for electricity. It that regard is perhaps ironic now that, as Ireland is ending the use of coal for electricity generation because of climate policy, it is temporarily reverting to burning the same type of oil for electricity that was being used before the three coal-fired units at Moneypoint were commissioned in the first place. This time round however, Moneypoint will not be active in the wholesale electricity market and will in effect only be operated for limited hours. It will be used as a back-up, out of market generator, that Eirgrid can call on any time they need extra generation capacity to ensure a stable supply of electricity for the Irish market. This means nevertheless that it will remain a critical station for the security of supply for the Irish electricity system, particularly over the winter period, and it will still be a significant source of carbon emission because it will burn a fossil fuel, oil. ESB has installed two massive heavy fuel oil storage tanks at Moneypoint with a capacity between them of 50,000 tonnes. Prior to this, the plant had the capacity to store enough coal for the generation of up to three months' supply of electricity. It is intended that the back-up generation of electricity at the plant using heavy fuel oil will cease in 2029.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Motorcyclist in his 20s dies in crash in Armagh
A 25-year-old motorcyclist has died in a crash involving a car in Co Armagh. The crash occurred on the Mullahead Road in the Tandragee area shortly after 8.10am this morning. Police and emergency services attended the scene of crash. The 25-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. In a statement, the PSNI said: "Road closures were in place for some time but the Mullahead Road has since reopened, while a closure remains in place at Ballymore Road. "We are appealing to anyone in the area at the time and has dashcam or mobile phone footage to get in touch via 101, and quote reference number 231 of 19/06/25, or report online at
