For anyone seeking to make a charitable gesture this Christmas, former Donegal footballer and pundit Brendan Devenney has come up with an innovation that he is rolling out with Plan International that can improve your own health, as well as the fortunes of young girls in Africa.

An Irish student activist who has been selected to attend the UN’s first youth climate summit says she hopes young people can convince global leaders to tackle the climate crisis at the scale and pace required to save the planet.

A new initiative has been launched in Dublin by Plan International and UNESCO Chair IT Tralee to help children with disabiliteis to join in everyday activities including playing sport.

The Irish recruitment scene is enjoying an upsurge in activity in recent times, as can been seen with this selection of new appointments and promotions.

Harassment and fear “are part of daily life” for young women in Ireland, according to a children’s rights charity’s survey, published today to coincide with International Day of the Girl.

Boko Haram has murdered 600 teachers and displaced 19,000 in an effort to stop children getting the education they need to break the cycle of poverty, writes AnneMarie McCarthy       

Irish members of Clowns Without Borders help to entertain the traumatised in war-torn areas,

MARIA Walsh is no stranger to charity work — the former Rose of Tralee has previously travelled to Calcutta, South Africa, Tanzania, and Chernobyl to support worthy causes.

As a TV presenter and model turned fashion designer, Laura Whitmore is a woman with a lot on her plate. But she says she manages to make time for charity work.

The UK will deploy a Royal Navy warship and donate a total of £10m (€11.9m) to help the millions of people affected by the devastating typhoon in the Philippines, David Cameron has said.

THE world welcomed its symbolic “seven billionth” baby yesterday, but celebrations were tempered by worries over the strain that humanity’s population explosion is putting on a fragile planet.

AN Irish aid worker has played a leading role in freeing almost 2,000 girls kept in bonded labour, a form of slavery still widely practiced in parts of Nepal.

AN Irish charity building houses in Haiti has said it has exceeded its targets in the impoverished country despite the destruction wrought by the hurricane last winter.

A 69-year-old woman rescued after spending a week buried under earthquake rubble in Haiti spoke of her incredible escape today as more stories of survival emerged.

IRISH charities are recording unprecedented donations to help respond to the Haiti earthquake disaster that has left possibly up to 100,000 people dead.

AMID the chaos and the carnage, a signal of hope and life emerges from the rubble and devastation of Haiti’s earthquake.

DON’T ever worry again about the hygiene implications of shaking hands with your fellow Irish man or woman again.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is using foreign food aid as a weapon to intimidate voters in the forthcoming presidential run-off election, a watchdog group said today.

Gunmen attacked the office of a British-based aid group in north-western Pakistan today killing four local staff members.

Networked IT services provider Calyx has bought rival Mentec for €16m.

Destruction in the two Pakistan valleys leading out of Muzaffarabad may be worse than in the town itself, the international Red Cross said today after its first helicopter flight over the area devastated by Saturday’s earthquake.

The Government pledged tonight to keep up the pressure on Sudanese authorities, vowing maximum support for refugees in the war-torn country.