The country has become a battleground for larger powers competing for its oil and attempting to dominate the Arab world, writes Bernard Haykel

The US government's killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani is the latest and most dramatic development in the ongoing proxy conflict between the US and Iran, writes Luca Trenta.

I worked in sales as a rep for 33 years with Beamish and Crawford in Cork. I fell into hospitality by accident when offered a part-time job as a caddy on the golf course here in Mount Juliet.

The Chinese government’s reaction to protests in Hong Kong is pathetic; it needs to start behaving differently, writes Chris Patten

If US intelligence agencies do not toe Donald Trump’s line, they will become public enemy number one for his base, says Kent Harrington

After an explosive statement by a CIA whistleblower, US legislators are examining evidence that Donald Trump used his presidency to pursue a personal vendetta, writes Brad Heath

The US monitors everyone, apart from Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, so this exception for a militarily ambition nation is a ‘dereliction of duty’, writes Aram Roston

Researchers who have asked Apple to publish material about the nature of the questions asked of Siri, its voice-activated virtual assistant that mimics human intelligence, and

In the 33 years since the Chernobyl disaster, that catastrophe has been used for many purposes.

After US President Donald Trump walked away from the Iranian nuclear deal, which closed the door on diplomacy, his administration’s pretext of freeing Iranians from authoritarianism is similar in tone to previous US war propaganda in this region.

Despite talk of missions to Mars and a renewed interest in returning to the moon, nothing can match the awesome feat of that first lunar landing 50 years ago today, writes Dan Buckley.

Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law

Bill Kaysing was a former US Navy officer who worked as a technical writer for one of the rocket manufacturers for NASA’s Apollo moon missions, writes Peter Knight.

The best non-fiction books for the summer transport you from the White House to Hollywood and from pristine greens at Augusta to sweaty gyms in Belfast. Richard Fitzpatrick dips between the covers

In honour of Father’s Day, Chris Wasser brings us the most memorable cinematic dads of all time.

Here are this summer's fact and fiction top reads chosen by Richard Fitzpatrick and Marjorie Brennan.

It will come as no surprise I’m sure, when I announce here today that I have the definitive itinerary regarding the trip of Donald Trump to Ireland.

Like Donald Trump, Richard Nixon tried to stonewall congressional investigations into crimes allegedly committed in the White House.

A 46-year-old former journalist has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of murdering her flatmate in their South Dublin home.

A 46-year-old woman on trial, charged with murdering her flatmate, told gardaí that voices in her head made her stab him.

Many US presidents didn’t see eye-to-eye with their top spies, but none has came close to the damage being wrought by the current incumbent, writes former public affairs director of the CIA, Kent Harrington.

False information, particularly that which is spread online, puts years of medical research — and lives — at risk, writes Junaid Nabi.

The electorate has the chance to break the Republicans’ lock on government in possibly the most consequential midterm elections in US history, writes Elizabeth Drew AHEAD of this week’s US midterm elections, domestic

The pervasiveness of state-sponsored killings is no excuse for treating murder as acceptable, ever, writes Jeffrey D Sachs.

Scarcely a day passes without ever more extraordinary news from Planet Trump, where the president has been studying the standard of political discourse in the republic and has found it wanting.

The discovery came after a series of glass-filled pipe bombs targeted Hillary Clinton, former president Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats.

American senator John McCain, who has died aged 81, was that increasingly rare figure: a man of active moral substance in political life.

The rise of pro-Putin parties in the recent Italian elections has again underlined how American leverage has waned in comparison, writes John Lloyd.

Vladimir Putin was one of the first of 107.3m voters across 11 time zones to use one of 97,000 polling stations to vote in Russia’s faux presidential election yesterday.

Unlike other animals, humanity has voluntarily limited its reproduction, meaning the Earth and its people will survive as fertility rates fall across the globe, writes Noah Smith.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have completed a draft report concluding there was no collusion or coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.

Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy who is critically ill in the UK after exposure to an unknown substance, was one of four prisoners who were pardoned and released from custody in 2010 as part of a spy swap.

A UN Security Council emergency meeting on the protests in Iran showed Tehran "the world will be watching" its actions, the US ambassador has said.

From movies to music, food to fashion, our critics reveal their picks for the year ahead.

An explosion at a supermarket in Russia's second largest city was a terrorist attack, President Vladimir Putin has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his US counterpart Donald Trump to thank him for a CIA tip-off that helped thwart a series of bombings in St Petersburg.

Donald Trump has said media speculation that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will soon leave his job is "fake news".

Another woman has stepped forward to accuse former US president George HW Bush of inappropriately touching her.

Allegations that Lee Harvey Oswald was connected to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were "totally unfounded", say newly released documents regarding president John F Kennedy's assassination.

The CIA's release of documents seized during the 2011 raid that killed al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has again raised questions about Iran's support of the extremist network leading up to the September 11 terror attacks.

Newly released CIA files show how spooked the Soviets were by Kenney’s assassination and the frightening spectre of nuclear war breaking out, writes Ryle Dwyer

Partial records from long-secret files relating to the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy have been released - capturing the frantic days following the killing as officials madly chased after tips, juggled rumours and sifted through leads worldwide.

US President Donald Trump is delaying the release of some files related to the John F Kennedy assassination that were due to come out on Thursday.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped pay for political research into Donald Trump that ultimately produced a dossier of allegations about his ties to Russia, sources say.