I would warn against tracking any data related to babies while sleep deprived as it starts to make you go insane unfortunately

Time is ticking on Macron’s final months in power. He used his final Bastille Day to make a statement about his vision of French military power within coalitions and European cooperation- something Marine Le Pen wants to dismantle if she is elected in his place www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

"May the best team win, and may racism lose," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after comments from a former conservative prime minister revealed people still struggling to be normal about the French team www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer...

The forest south of Paris being burned up in wildfire isn’t just any forest. Fontainebleau was crucial to the development of Impressionism, is in masterpieces by Monet and Renoir, and the campaign to protect it inspired one of the earliest environmental manifestos www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

The movie holds up. As does this great anecdote courtesy of Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.

Ronaldo allowed to play despite a three-match ban for a foul against Ireland… the Balogun affair… it all contributes to an impression of a stacked deck that was reflected in the international reaction to Egypt’s defeat to Argentina last night. My piece about it www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer...

These stories about the impact of AI in universities are so depressing. I often work in a public library, and it is heartening to see it always full of young people studying hard.

Le Pen has declared her French presidential candidacy after an appeals court shortened her sentence for misappropriating funds. She says she won’t need to wear an ankle bracelet on the campaign as the sentence will be pending while she appeals the verdict once more www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

A Paris court has shortened Marine Le Pen's ban on holding office, while ordering her to serve a sentence wearing an electronic tag - something she has said would make it impossible to campaign. Everyone now awaits a statement from her to clarify if she will run or not. It is in theory possible.

Frankly terrifying speaking to Irish people today who fled a wildfire on a French campsite - will change how I think about safety. It was just “minutes” from seeing smoke to the fire overcoming the place - they lost everything but the clothes they were wearing www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

"Members of the group Patriot Front ride the metro as a commuter looks on, during the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 4, 2026. REUTERS/Cheney Orr"

Not a great economy alert! Wall Street Bets users think Palantir spiked today because The Onion story titled “Palantir Acquires Pentagon for $800 Billion” hit their front page. They’re guessing trading bots indexed the top post on the subreddit reddit not understanding source.

I tried to capture the world of Caolan Robertson, who represents an interesting evolution in how people consume news www.irishtimes.com/media/2026/0...

Shima Seien - Untitled (1918) A self portrait - and a testimony,

Troubling, powerful testimony from @otoolematthew.bsky.social and deep, level-headed historical parallels perspective in this Half Pint from the ever-excellent @passportirish.bsky.social Thanks for recording and sharing this.

Grim new episode open to all. @otoolematthew.bsky.social describes sheltering families fleeing their burning homes in his constituency office during the horrific riots in Belfast last week. We discuss the broader societal and historical context: www.patreon.com/theirishpass...

Warning for Ireland klaxon - Trump speaking in Évian today: "We’ll be making almost all of our pharmaceuticals… if they don’t build [local US factories] they’ll have 150-200% of tariff to pay. If they do build they have no tariff to pay.”

James Joyce’s Ulysses is a novel unusually rich in smells: fresh bread from Rourke’s city bakery, “men’s beery piss”, Molly Bloom’s perfume, incense escaping through the window of a church Irish perfumer Meabh Mc Curtin has recreated 14 scents described in the book www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

"I and other women in the extended family... began sending her name and photo and the pictures of her killers to media pages and platforms hoping for justice for this child and allow her to at least be buried with dignity." www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

If you read my recent report on the Vatican’s relationship with Anthropic — which focused on the U.S. context, which gets a mention in here — this traces some of that same history from the Vatican side, focusing on Tighe. Fascinating stuff.

'Held each year since that first meeting in 2016, the discussions brought together figures such as former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and chief technology officer at Microsoft Kevin Scott with senior Vatican officials, Catholic theologians and philosophers.'

The Irish priest behind the scenes of the Vatican’s work on artificial intelligence The son of an IDA official, Paul Tighe became a go-between between Silicon Valley and the Vatican in dialogues about AI going back a decade www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

Can you identify who is meeting Pope Francis in these photos? Grateful for any tips. www.vatican.va/content/fran...

Alan Stivell recalls the time he taught Shane MacGowan to sing in Breton, the Celtic language of France’s northwest Atlantic corner, which is at the heart of the harpist’s lifework reviving the traditional culture and music of Brittany www.irishtimes.com/culture/musi...

“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice,” says @pontifex, launching call for ethical oversight of AI in his first major work as pope www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

The heart of Daniel O’Connell is kept in a monument in the Irish College in Rome (the reputed last words of the great Catholic liberator were “My body to Ireland, my heart to Rome, my soul to heaven”. 1/2

Among those who are listed to be studied is Giovanni Gentile, an influential idealist philosopher who went on to become minister of education under Benito Mussolini and to co-author the 1932 work The Doctrine of Fascism with the dictator. www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

Incredible story www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

The French revolutionary: egotist spoiler candidate to his critics, skilled man of integrity to his supporters. So who is Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the 74-year-old left-wing firebrand whose announcement of a fourth presidential run this week wrong footed moderate rivals? www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

Photo by @nicolehester.bsky.social for The Tennesseean www.tennessean.com/picture-gall...

A serving US soldier bet $32,000 Nicolás Maduro had less than a month left in power. Hours later he won $400,000. He was part of the team who planned and carried out the raid on the Venezuelan leader’s compound, according to a US indictment. www.irishtimes.com/world/2026/0...

For 67 days of war, roughly 20,000 seafarers have been stuck on ships in the Strait of Hormuz in a situation described by the United Nations as without precedent since the second World War. Concern about their welfare is rising www.irishtimes.com/world/2026/0...

This is a great article by @naomiohreally.bsky.social

Credit to my dad for suggesting this topic ❤️ time to break out the Richard Ellmann again www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

JD Vance is the prime example of a deeper trend in the US of highly prominent converts to Catholicism trying to steer the church to a more conservative path, while exerting an important intellectual influence on the Maga movement seeking to reshape the US www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Very good overview by @naomiohreally.bsky.social on implications for other European elections after the defeat of Orban Orbán’s defeat a blow to nationalist parties in advance of key European votes www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

Over the last few days I received quite an overwhelming number of e-mails in relation to this piece: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a.... I'll try to answer them all, albeit gradually. The piece is superficially about Russia. But I think it's fundamentally about understanding one's own identity.

Israel detonated Naqoura village in South Lebanon

“The scale of the nightmare in Gaza and the West Bank is vast. It is her job to somehow absorb and relay it to the rest of the world. That costs her profoundly — more than any American sanctions.”

The 2025 numbers are really striking. www.kielinstitut.de/fileadmin/Da...

🚨 A new joint investigation reveals transcripts and recordings of conversations between Hungary's Péter Szijjártó and several Russian ministers, including Sergey Lavrov, aimed at weakening EU sanctions packages and removing the names of blacklisted oligarchs.

Why does Yvette Cooper deliver this line like an Anglican minister

The US don’t even know who they are speaking to in Iran. They speak to two anonymous voices who don’t identify themselves, and who don’t have decision making authority - everything has to be run past unnamed higher bosses who are also mysterious

I’m on assignment in Paris and will be reporting on France in the build up to next year’s presidential elections. To kick it off, here’s my reporting on the local elections that have fired the starting gun for 2027 www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

For shame

This is amazing, infuriating and dredges up a lot of resentment I had managed to bury. The evidence was overwhelming and so many people refused to see it. www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Schade, dass Virginia Giuffre den heutigen Tag nicht mehr erleben konnte. Und dass sie nie erfahren wird, dass ihr Mut und ihre Beständigkeit über viele Jahre hinweg, trotz zahlreicher Anfeindungen, dazu beigetragen haben, etwas ins Rollen zu bringen.

‘Is your French girl in town?’: Epstein files reveal correspondence with David Blaine

The Jeffrey Epstein files reveal the convicted child sex offender was fascinated by magicians, and detail a years-long relationship between Epstein and David Blaine. My story: www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...