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.

Doing a bit of travelling around the country it was hard to ignore the huge amount of discarded tyres blighting the landscape.

Roasting and frying starchy foods could increase the risk of cancer.

Roasting and frying starchy foods could increase the risk of cancer, a British Government body has said.

Fiat Chrysler said in a statement on Thursday that it is “disappointed” with the Environmental Protection Agency assertions.

A German court said it has added staff and storage space to handle a flood of 1,400 investor lawsuits against Volkswagen seeking damages worth €8.2bn.

Volkswagen has suffered a setback in its efforts to emerge from the 10-month-old emissions-cheating scandal as California regulators rejected a recall proposal for 85,000 diesel-powered vehicles, raising the prospect that the German carmaker will have to buy them back.

Volkswagen will pay owners of its polluting diesel cars up to $7,000 (€6,160) and agree to fund a grant program to offset air pollution, under a $10bn settlement being negotiated for submission to a federal judge next week, people familiar with the talks said.

Volkswagen chief executive Matthias Mueller has apologised in person to US president Barack Obama for the car-maker's emissions scandal.

Shares of Daimler slid more than 5.5%, hit by news that the US Department of Justice had asked the car maker to investigate its emissions certification process for vehicles, including its Mercedes brand.

Painstaking organisation and in-person campaigning paid off again for Ted Cruz. He won all 14 delegates at the Republican Party convention in Wyoming.

The US Justice Department has sued Volkswagen (VW) for up to $90 billion (€84bn) for allegedly violating environmental laws.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal a “far-reaching event” and demanded the world’s largest carmaker quickly investigate it.

Banking and the car sector have tried to do what they can get away with, not what is right, says Mark Gilbert

The software at the centre of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal in the US was built into its cars in Europe as well, though it is not yet clear if it helped cheat tests as it did in the US.

Resignation comes a day after asking the staff and public for trust

Martin Winterkorn’s days as head of Volkswagen appeared numbered yesterday after the German car maker said a scandal over falsified vehicle emission tests in the US could affect 11m of its cars worldwide.

Volkswagen lost almost a quarter of its market value after it admitted to cheating on US air pollution tests for years, putting pressure on chief executive Martin Winterkorn to fix the damaged reputation of the world’s biggest car maker.

Volkswagen has ordered an external investigation, after US regulators found that its software for diesel cars gave false emissions data, its CEO said yesterday. He said he was “deeply sorry” for the violation of US rules.

A controversial US group selling a "miracle" cure for serious conditions, despite the fact the product is industrial-strength bleach, is planning to return to Ireland this autumn.

Patients have been warned not to take a "miracle" cure for serious conditions sold by a controversial US church coming to Ireland this weekend, as the product is industrial-strength bleach.

Exposure to traffic fumes and industrial air pollution can dramatically increase a mother’s chances of having a child with autism, research has shown.

China has warned foreign embassies to stop publishing their own reports on air quality in the country, escalating its objections to a US Embassy Twitter feed that tracks pollution in Beijing.

A fire sparked as workers mixed chemicals at a plant south of Dallas shot massive plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky, forcing schoolchildren and residents to evacuate or take cover indoors to avoid possible exposure to dangerous gases.

HEALTH minister Dr James Reilly has described as “irresponsible” parents who smoke in the presence of children despite knowing it causes cancer and death.

A smattering of summer rain gave a boost to firefighters battling a huge forest fire near Los Alamos, the desert birthplace of the atomic bomb, giving authorities enough confidence to allow about 12,000 people to return home for the first time in nearly a week.

THYROID cancer for sure.

VOLKSWAGEN is resurrecting its iconic microbus, which debuted in 1950 and became a favourite of hippies for its unique styling and copious space for travellers.

OVERWHELMED and saddened by the gargantuan size of the Gulf oil spill?

In its latest effort to stop oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, BP is trying to guide a mile-long tube into the breached well.

THIS decade is on track to become the warmest since records began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years, the UN weather agency reported yesterday on the second day of a pivotal 192-nation climate conference.

METALS found in popular red and white wines may present a potential health hazard, a study has found.

THE Department of the Environment has been criticised for suggesting people should consult the internet for advice on disposing of a type of light bulb containing mercury.

DUBLIN Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Gina Quinn has taken up the cause for fast-tracking the Poolbeg incinerator.

Reliance on fossil fuels, the spread of cities, the destruction of natural habitats for farmland and over-exploitation of the oceans are destroying Earth’s ability to sustain life, the World Wildlife Fund warns in a new report.

Highlighting the need to curb the everyday use of chemicals, blood tests carried out on 14 ministers in European Union nations found a cocktail of several toxic chemicals, including DDT pesticide residues, according to a WWF survey released today.

I READ with interest the increasing number of letters to Irish newspapers from Americans, usually representing some anti-smoking forum and applauding our absolute ban in Ireland.

In what is believed to be the first case of Americans suing a Canadian company under the US Superfund law, a tribe is demanding that the owner of a huge smelter north of the border comply with environmental laws in cleaning up waste dumped for decades in the Columbia River.

US President George Bush is ordering three Cabinet departments and the US Environmental Protection Agency to develop new procedures to protect the nation’s food supply from terror attack.