An autistic man who beat his mother to death in a “very sad case, with a sad background narrative”, has been committed to the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin.

An autistic man beat his mother to death because he could not cope with the stress of moving home, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said today a French Embassy employee on trial in Iran has been freed from prison.

The confrontation over Iran’s seizure of 15 British sailors escalated today with Tehran announcing the captured seamen admitted to straying into Iranian territorial waters.