Who said the following: “The vast majority of asylum seekers are free-loaders, blackguards, and hoodlums. They are hunted out of their own placeby their own people. I’d take a genuine asylum seeker and put him under my own roof. But where is he?

Our two nations may be divided by distance but are united by history.

Scott Johnson started work yesterday, as the Australian Rugby Union’s director of rugby, charged with overseeing Wallabies’ coach Michael Cheika and helping to restore the sport and its national team to former glories in an increasingly difficult sporting landscape for the code Down Under.

There has always been tension between the White House and the press corps charged with monitoring the motives and actions of the US president, writes Richard Hogan.

To understand Charlottesville is to understand the divisive, divided, and vitriolic America we now know, writes Joyce Fegan.

The Republicans have North Dakota in their sights … and have changed the law to win it.

Flip-flopping is a tool of the trade in the politician’s kitbag, and it’s one that in popular democracies has a long history.

“Aodhán, you brought smiles to people’s faces, your witty comments, your dry sense of humour, and sometimes mimicking people.”

American author George Saunders has been handed this year's Man Booker Prize for his first full-length novel.

A 29-year-old debut novelist has been shortlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize for a book she began writing on her mobile phone on her way to work.

The power to pardon in now in the hands of an unstable narcissist whose use of the executive perogative could cause profound damage, writes Ruti Teitel

Ironically, Robert E. Lee would have been against sculptures of himself in full military gear, writes Terry Prone

Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

WALTER Matthau, Peter Finch, Gary Oldman, and John Malkovich. 

Liberals have taken heart from Emmanuel Macron’s early showing in the French presidential elections, but they shouldn’t get carried away, writes Mark J Roe.

Hannah Stephenson grills industry experts about the hotly-tipped new titles for 2017.

While regarded as historic and celebratory occasions, not all US presidential inaugurations have passed off as the solemn state event desired, as Robert Hume describes.

The arrival of new people disturbing existing patterns of community is as old as humanity, writes Gerard Howlin

Here is an analysis of some of the claims made in the second presidential debate.

A night after being booed off the Republican National Convention stage, Texas Senator Ted Cruz remained defiant about Donald Trump, saying he is not a “servile puppy dog” and vowing not to support anyone who wages personal attacks against his family.

It’s not just Donald Trump. The USA has a long history of jokers, eccentrics, and megalomaniacs running for the top office, from immortals to the king of the world, reports Robert Hume

 How did a kitschy, carnival performer propel himself to the brink of power in the most powerful country in the world? asks Bernard-Henri Lévy

Some of the stranger stories from around the globe

It is hard to know yet exactly what effect the Volkswagen ‘dieselgate’ scandal will ultimately have on the giant German manufacturer in terms of ongoing reputational damage and the financial fall-out that will inevitably follow.

With calls last week for Cork GAA fans to stop displaying Confederate flags at matches, American author Barbara Kingsolver says it’s time to let the flag go in her homeland too

Let’s be honest. A certain amount of mumbling goes on at matches around Ireland every time our glorious national anthem is rolled out.

In Waterford, President Michael D. Higgins recently launched the Thomas F. Meagher Foundation for 2016 Flag Week, which will be held from March 10 to 17: the national flag will be given to schools around the country.

Your guide to the best of tonight's telly.

CBS News has released video from four stories it aired about the Falklands War in 1982, all part of a dispute involving Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly and his subsequent statements about covering the war.

WEIGHT management is a numbers game and Operation Transformation’s clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy is no exception, writes Irene Feighan. 

Henry Kissinger once complained that when he wanted to talk to Europe, he never knew who to phone.

Tony Clayton Lea reveal his travel tips for new year adventurers.

A previously unseen letter which features Jane Austen’s first mention of her upcoming novel Pride And Prejudice has gone on public display.

Multiple Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis has been knighted by British loyalty.

The habit of giving nicknames has been around a long time and can say a lot about the recipient — or not. Dave Kenny does some research

WHEN Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864, he could not have foreseen that the gesture would spark an environmental renaissance across America, resulting in 59 stunning National Parks today.

AS we all know, St Patrick’s Day was last week and we were all able to celebrate our Irishness once again. It’s a festival celebrated globally and we, the Irish, should be honoured to have a festival celebrated so universally.

Pennsylvania lawyer’s ad starring smiling thugs draws criticism