Though we live in an age of ever more comprehensive surveillance we may not have a full appreciation of how our every move is tracked.

THE past festive season was extra special for newly- weds Yvonne Coleman and James Twohig as it was on a December 26 night out that the couple first laid eyes on each other.

A few years ago on a visit to Chile I went for a swim in the Pacific Ocean at 7pm on a warm evening in mid-December, it was a little bracing but also blissfully refreshing.

One of the almost universally accepted consequences of climate change is rising sea levels. This reality threatens homes, farms, towns and large cities.

In May, retired American naval officer Victor Vescovo dived nearly 10, 927m in a submarine to a point in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench regarded as the deepest place on Earth.

As your American-based golf correspondent, I’ve got a confession to make. I didn’t fancy my first pints of Guinness. In fact, I didn’t acquire a taste for it until my first trip to Ireland a little more than a decade ago and a visit to Temple Bar’s cobbled streets between the River Liffey and Dame Street in Dublin.

Visiting travel writers and explorers will shortly explore the theme of ‘extraordinary adventures’ at the 17th annual Lismore Immrama Festival of Travel.

Just as a jury in California awarded more than $2bn to a couple who claimed Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based Roundup caused their cancer on Monday, Victor Vescovo, a retired American naval officer, gave details of his submarine dive to one of the deepest known places on earth.

Toyota and Honda forecast profit and sales short of analysts’ estimates as a trade spat between the US and China threatens global car sales already sputtering from weaker demand.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt expects the full complement of 32 players to train tomorrow on Queensland’s Gold Coast as the Grand Slam winners begin preparations for Saturday’s opening Test against Australia.

The best way to get the full experience of Hawaii, from its lava landscape to its amazing marine life, is by air, land and sea, writes Isabel Conway.

Lava spraying from the Philippines' most active volcano has flowed almost two miles from the crater in an increasingly dangerous eruption.

A giant Christ statue in Peru’s capital that was donated by a construction company at the center of Latin America’s largest corruption scandal was damaged today in a fire, days before Pope Francis is set to arrive in the South American nation.

Eight people aboard a US Navy plane that crashed in the Pacific have been recovered in good condition and a search continues for three other missing personnel.

China has sent a high-level envoy to North Korea in a bid to improve relations after US President Donald Trump urged Beijing to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme.

Two sailors and their dogs have been rescued by the US Navy after more than five months lost at sea in the vast Pacific Ocean.

Male killer whales are three times more likely to die if they are socially isolated, new research suggests.

The US has seen no need to shoot down North Korean missiles test-fired in Japan's direction, but a future missile launch that threatens American or Japanese territory will "elicit a different response from us", defence secretary Jim Mattis has said.

North Korea has fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean - the second such test in recent weeks.

South Korea has conducted its first live-fire drill for an advanced air-launched cruise missile it says will strengthen its pre-emptive strike capability against North Korea in the event of crisis.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for more weapons tests targeting the Pacific Ocean, a day after his nation for the first time flew a ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload over Japan.

Catch up on this morning's headlines.

North Korea has fired a possible missile over northern Japan.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged calm and said Americans should have "no concerns" after North Korea and President Donald Trump traded fiery threats.

The US military says it has conducted a successful test of its ballistic missile defence system.

A flight attendant broke a wine bottle over the head of a man who lunged for an exit door and fought with other passengers as a plane flew from Seattle to Beijing, but it did not stop him brawling.

From the English City, via the Edinburgh of the South, to the spiritual home of the Maori people, the last seven days of this 2017 British and Irish Lions tour have been a study in the shifting timeframes, cultures, and traditions of New Zealand.

Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

The intense rains, overflowing rivers, mudslides and flooding being experienced in Peru are the worst seen in two decades, the authorities have said.

Words find themselves with new meanings all the time, but it’s the speed with which they are changing that Colm O’Regan has concerns with this week.

Last year was the hottest year on record globally, beating 2015's exceptionally high temperatures, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said.

The hole in the ozone layer was caused by nuclear testing and “not by cans of hairspray or whatever”, claims Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae.

An independent TD says cans of hairspray are not to blame for the hole in the ozone layer.

A strong earthquake rattled the coast of New Zealand's North Island, triggering a small tsunami but not causing any major damage or injuries.

Earth just broiled to its hottest month in recorded history, according to Nasa.

Last year was the warmest year on record for land and sea, partly because seasonal El Nino climate patterns prevailed year-round, and melting ice pushed sea levels to the highest ever, a study based on the work of more than 450 scientists worldwide confirmed.

Finding Dory, the sequel to the much-loved Finding Nemo finally hit the cinemas this weekend. However, there may be problems for aquariums, pet shops, and children who want to find a real-life Dory fish for themselves.

A Russian man has set off from Australia and is attempting to break the world record for travelling around the world solo in a hot-air balloon.

Ireland is a small country that drinks a relatively modest amount of wine per head of population — around 17 litres per year compared with 24 litres in the UK and 53 litres per head in France.

The bikini turns 70 this year. From itsy bitsy beginnings to structured and scaffolded re-imaginings, it’s undergone quite the transformation since it was unveiled in 1946, says Ciara McDonnell.

Cambodia has shortened the school day by one hour to help students cope with a heatwave that has pushed temperatures as high as 42C (107.6F).

Led Zeppelin’s lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page must face a US jury trial over whether they stole opening chords for their 1971 classic ‘Stairway to Heaven’.