North Korea has been publicly blamed by the UK's Security Minister for the WannaCry cyber attack which hit the NHS.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has rejected criticism from the United Nations about a surge in killings of suspected drug traffickers and denied government responsibility, his spokesman said.

Senior Fianna Fáil members believe a May election could be looming as talks to form a government continue.

Throughout its term in office, the Coalition has dropped the ball, picked it back up again, made promises, then backtracked. Can they make it across the election 2015 finish line? Mary Regan reports

Fianna Fáil’s not sorry anymore.

There are some games where a manager might feel the need to try to motivate his team beforehand, but I doubt Eamonn Fitzmaurice had to give much of a pep talk before throw-in at Healy Park in Omagh yesterday.

ICA guilds across Ireland have an abundance of creative talent which finds expression in anything from decoupage to drama, book clubs to beaded jewellery making, creative writing to crochet.

Open and Shut Case

Greece is to hold an early general election on May 6.

The United States has put the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq on a terrorism blacklist and offered a $10m reward for information on his whereabouts.

A family accused of massacring 57 people for political gain in the Philippines plotted the killings over dinner, a court heard today.

Prosecutors in the Philippines filed charges today in the biggest and bloodiest murder case in the country’s history after the apparently politically motivated massacre of 57 people.

MAY Day! May Day! Government sinking under the weight of its own incompetence.!

THE great northern hemisphere debate on the contentious Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) is expected to rumble on throughout the season until, perhaps, the IRB finally come to a decision regarding their future in rugby union next March.

Radovan Karadzic is to fight Serbia's attempt to extradite him to the Netherlands to face a war crimes court.

MARY HARNEY last night insisted the PDs would have a new leader within weeks as she admitted the party was struggling to pick itself up “off the floor”.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was briefly admitted to hospital in secret in October for treatment of an abscess in his throat, the authors of a new book said today.

A survey released today shows that just over half of Irish voters would have been willing to use e-voting, (voting on-line or by text) if it had been available in the May election.

The troubled saga of actress Lindsay Lohan took another dangerous turn this morning when police booked her on suspicion of drink-driving and cocaine possession after a frightened woman called the police to report being chased by Lohan's car.

Troubled US actress Lindsay Lohan, under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, has turned herself in to police in connection with a May car crash.

Frankie Dettori is relishing the prospect of seeking his fourth win in the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup, on Saturday night.

THE aftermath of the Belfast Assembly poll will not herald the End of History for the North, but it could well see the end of the hysteria.

WITH a May election looming, the battle for the hearts and minds began in earnest over the weekend as the Government rounded on Labour’s promise of a 2% cut in the standard tax rate within two years of getting into power.

THE WORD for May, Bealtine, originally meant bright fire. “During the May festival, a great fire was lit to encourage the sun, and greenery was brought into the house symbolising the desire for future prosperity...”; so begins a press release for a new book, The Lore of the Land, an encyclopaedia of Myth, Legend and Romance, by Dáithí Ó hOgáin, associate professor of Folklore at UCD.

Iraqi authorities tallied millions of ballots today from elections to choose a parliament in a mostly peaceful election – among the freest ever in the Arab world.

Residents of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa stayed largely at home amid a fifth day of renewed protest over the results of May elections the opposition calls fraudulent. There were reports of more scattered gunfire and rioting in parts of the capital.

Pakistan’s interior minister today expressed concern over attacks against Muslims in Britain in the wake of last week’s bombings in London.

The dust has barely settled on last weekend’s Guineas meeting, but there is no time to take a break as the Classic conundrum continues tomorrow with the start of Chester’s May meeting.

The Taoiseach has told the Dáil that the entire Garda force will be on duty for the May Day ceremonies around the country.

Burma’s military junta allowed the pro-democracy opposition’s top nine members to meet today at the home of Aung San Suu Kyi, where she is under house arrest.

THE head of the Garda Complaints Board (GCB) yesterday said he would be “very disappointed” if gardaí did not act appropriately at this weekend’s May Day protests.

Declan Power and Neans McSweeney

SINN Féin leaders will do everything in its power to keep the peace process going and remove the guns from Irish politics, a senior member of the party vowed yesterday.

WE’RE coming into many people’s favourite time of the year as we move from spring towards summer, even if there’s still a sting in the air.

Pakistani authorities have arrested three men in connection with a May suicide bombing outside a hotel in the southern port city of Karachi that killed 14 people, including 11 French engineers, police said today.

CIVIL liberties activists have expressed concern that gardaí involved in the force's internal investigation into the Reclaim The Streets protest on May 6 may have been able to access confidential details about complainants.

Frankie Dettori will miss the last two days of York’s prestigious May meeting next week after picking up a four-day suspension for a whip offence on Al Moughazel at Doncaster on Monday.