“We Come On The Ship They Call The Mayflower

There is a long history of the CIA briefing presidents-elect on foreign policy. Donald Trump has rebuffed the agency’s advice. Tim Weiner asks why

An innovative new show immerses audiences in The Beatles’ creative process at their legendary studios, writes Ed Power

The managing director of the five-star Dromoland Castle hotel said yesterday that the business is going through “a nice purple patch” as pre-tax profits last year increased more than fivefold to €324,889.

Former enemies during the First World War have united for ceremonies surrounding the 100th anniversary of the start of the conflict.

Vodka is a major cause of early death in Russia and has a direct impact on mortality rates in men, research has shown.

Presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela said today they were willing to grant asylum to US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden.

TO celebrate International Women’s Day today, Third Age would like to honour and praise several influential Irish women who have changed our society and lives for the better.

Venezuela’s vice president flew to Cuba to visit the ailing Hugo Chavez and his family, while the leaders of Argentina and Peru also travelled to Havana saying they hoped to ask about the Venezuelan president’s condition.

Dressed in the colours of the late Seve Ballesteros, Europe were fittingly fighting for all they were worth on the final day of the Ryder Cup in Chicago.

President Barack Obama has called the presidents of Libya and Egypt and urged them to continue working with the US to ensure the safety of diplomatic personnel, the White House said.

President Cristina Fernandez has thyroid cancer, but test results show that it remains limited to a lobe in the right side of her neck, and has not metastasised or spread into her lymph nodes, her spokesman said.

THE visit of Queen Elizabeth II last week, followed by the arrival of President Barack Obama yesterday, shows that this country enjoys a presence that far exceeds what might be expected of a tiny country of just four million people.

AFRICAN mediators have offered Ivory Coast’s embattled leader Laurent Gbagbo incentives to stand down after disputed polls, using the threat of military action as the only alternative.

Operational costs of the State Car Fleet is to be reduced by a third over the next two years afte today's Budget announced for 2011.

“Austerity” is a useful word in Europe – it translates easily.

Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt have discussed how they can work together to promote peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The FBI arrested 10 people for allegedly serving for years as secret agents of Russia’s intelligence service, the SVR, with the goal of penetrating US government policymaking circles.

Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev today signed a milestone treaty to cut their warhead arsenals by nearly a third.

The US and Russia have approved a landmark arms deal aimed at cutting the nuclear arsenals of both countries.

The Haitian earthquake relief effort will not be measured in days or weeks, but in months and even years, US President Barack Obama said today.

Presidents Hamid Karzai and Barack Obama spoke on the phone for the first time, exactly four weeks after Obama’s inauguration, Karzai’s office said today.

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.

THERE is a contrast between Europe and America but not a contradiction, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the joint houses of Congress yesterday.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will join an elite band of international statesmen today with a historical address to a Joint Session of the US Congress.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern tonight left for the United States as he prepares for one of his last and most prestigious official engagements.

Venezuela and Ecuador have punished Colombia for killing a rebel leader in the Ecuadorian jungle by expelling its diplomats, ordering troops to the border and cracking down on trade.

YESTERDAY’S eleventh-hour deal between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin might well be a postcard from thefuture, warning us about what might await a small, relatively powerless economy in the world’s energy markets.

BARACK OBAMA topped a Clinton in another contest on Sunday — the Grammys.

Russia and Belarus today reached a compromise on their dispute that has halted oil flows along a key pipeline to Europe after telephone talks between the two countries’ presidents, the Belarusian presidency said.

THE head of an Irish charity has been appointed to a top level international committee to fight world hunger.

US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey will see her life detailed on paper when celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley pens her memoirs.

Ailing Cuban strongman Fidel Castro told hundreds of admirers in Havana for his delayed 80th birthday celebrations today that he was not well enough to meet them.

The G-8 summit that US President George Bush and seven other world leaders are attending next weekend in Russia is often billed as a gathering of the world’s leading economic powers.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is hosting one of the world’s largest anti-globalization, anti-war events starting tomorrow – and the timing couldn’t be better.

LIFE imitates art. Just over 10 years ago, a French film called La Haine (Hatred) won critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger today warned against an early withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, saying such a move would bolster insurgents and terrorists.

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroism in the face of genocide inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda, received the US National Civil Rights Museum’s 2005 Freedom Awards.

TIGER WOODS and Fred Couples crashed to a 4 & 3 defeat against Retief Goosen and Adam Scott in the first match of the Presidents Cup yesterday.

Tucked behind ancient walls and iron gates, Vatican City is protected by Swiss Guards armed with sabres, a small but efficient secret service packing handguns and a special Italian police corps.