In 1935 Joseph Stalin is said to have asked contemptuously: “how many divisions has the pope?” The question was answered emphatically by John Paul II long after the Soviet dictator’s death when the Berlin Wall came crashing down and Eastern Europe emerged from behind the Iron Curtain.

Twitter has defied a US government request for records that could identify users behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump, and is challenging that order in court.

While Brexit is hogging the headlines, it is not the only threat to the stability of the business world, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has opened up the possibility of a border poll in the context of Brexit negotiations.

Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the long-serving German foreign minister who was one of the key architects of the country’s 1990 reunification, has died aged 89.

Mary Elise Sarotte

Welcome to your Monday morning briefing. Let us ensure you’re up to speed on what’s happening and are prepared for the day ahead.

It involves chocolate.

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher believed the euro was always going to lead to the Germanification of the eurozone rather than the Europeanisation of Germany, according to her biographer Charles Moore.

Commemorations are being held to mark the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

WITH reference to your recent editorial on marriage, allow me to make a few points about human well-being and happiness.

VOTE Yes or your money is worthless — welcome to Euro democracy.

OCCUPY Wall Street activists clashed yesterday with workers and police outside the New York Stock Exchange, prompting more than 100 arrests on the two-month anniversary of the movement’s vocal anti-capitalism campaign.

SO is the EU to be led by an old-style dictator for the next six months?

BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan, best known for his coverage of the Falklands War, has died aged 61.

SO now we have a glimpse of what it must have been like living in East Berlin as the wall came crashing down.

This week much of Europe has been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In time it could well be considered as one of greatest seminal moments in world history, akin to the impact of the French Revolution, which began with the fall of the Bastille in 1789.

Twenty years ago tomorrow, they danced on top of the Berlin Wall, feet thudding on the cold concrete, arms raised in victory, hands clasped in friendship and giddy hope.

U2 have played a spectacular mini-concert in the German capital - ahead of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Katy Perry kicked off the MTV Europe Music Awards tonight.

U2 are to play a free show at the Brandenburg Gate to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was announced today.

ONE in seven Germans want the Berlin Wall back because they were better off when the country was divided, according to an opinion poll published ahead of the 20th anniversary of its collapse on November 9, 1989.

THE Taoiseach was afforded a magnificent stage to wind up his political career with an address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday. He became only the 102nd foreigner to address the two houses together.

TURBULENCE on China’s stockmarket over the past week has raised questions about the sustainability of its current boom.

Angela Merkel took office as Germany’s eighth post-Second World War leader and its first female chancellor, heading an unwieldy alliance with the tough job of turning around Europe’s biggest economy after years of stagnation and six months of political turmoil.

ANGELA MERKEL took power yesterday as Germany’s eighth post-Second World War leader and its first female chancellor, heading an unwieldy alliance with the tough job of turning around Europe’s biggest economy after years of stagnation and six months of political turmoil.

Superstar Michael Jackson will no longer open himself up to child abuse allegations by sharing his bed with young boys, his lawyer said tonight.

One of the five protestors charged with damaging a US aircraft at Shannon Airport has told the jury that "acting on the philosophies of Isaiah rather than pissing off George Bush" was the motivation behind their actions.

Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko said today support for him in his country was comparable to the groundswell that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

PRIESTS and presidents, pilgrims and politicians arrived in Rome from around the world yesterday to fete an ailing Pope John Paul as he prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of his historic pontificate today.

Images of Saddam Hussein lay shattered across Baghdad today after the oppressed people of the Iraqi capital vented their anger at the ousted tyrant.

Early signs that Ireland is backing EU enlargement brought sighs of relief at European Commission headquarters in Brussels.

Ten countries were today getting the go-ahead to join the European Union – the biggest single expansion since the original six pioneering nations joined forces to form the Common Market 50 years ago.