Bill Cosby’s lawyer has claimed that the sexual assault case against the comedian was politically motivated, brought by a newly-elected district attorney to make good on a campaign pledge.

Bill Cosby has been charged with felony sexual assault over an incident in 2004 at his Philadelphia-area mansion, a Pennsylvania prosecutor said yesterday, in the first criminal case involving the comedian after years of mounting accusations.

A 27-year-old man is due in court this afternoon charged in connection with a house fire and assault in Co Offaly in September.

Seven youths aged 14 to 18 are facing trial on charges connected to the Jobstown water protest last November during which Tanaiste Joan Burton was allegedly trapped in her car for over two hours.

Two men, arrested after a high-speed pursuit during which a garda was injured, have been remanded in custody after being charged with theft and a range of road traffic offences.

Wheelchair users and elderly people were caught up in the crossfire at a busy Ennis shopping centre as bottles of wine flew through the air, a court has heard.

A 31-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he was charged with the murder of a former rugby player in Dublin at the weekend.