Thousands of people of all races and creeds gathered for a Muslim funeral service in Muhammad Ali’s hometown in Kentucky to pay their respects to a man who fought in the ring and sought peace outside it.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Students working in Berkeley, California on a J1 visa say they have encountered difficulties in securing accommodation because they are Irish.

A man accused of endangering the safety of a transatlantic flight became extremely angry and swore when he was told he could not have extra nuts and crackers, a court has heard.

The final survivor of the Berkeley balcony collapse is officially on her way home to Ireland, it has been confirmed.

One of the Irish students injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse yesterday marked three months since the tragedy by remembering her friends who died in the incident.

“We all grieve together. We all grieve in our own way, at our own speed. We all have our good days and our bad days, but we have them together.”

Family members and friends of the seven injured Berkeley balcony collapse victims are taking part in a 72-hour cycle in a bid to raise funds for spiralling health costs.

Unpaid, they are a network of friends of Ireland, acting for the State around the world, writes Gerard Howlin

Niall Murray and Jack Halpin, two of those injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse, are due to travel home to Ireland next week.

The family of Aoife Beary who remains in a critical condition after falling from a collapsed balcony in Berkeley, California, last month are expecting her recovery to be “long and slow”.

The victims of the

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The owners and others responsible for the the building in Berkeley, California, where six Irish students died could face manslaughter charges, the local District Attorney indicated yesterday.

A criminal investigation into the collapse of the balcony in Berkeley, California, that claimed the lives of six Irish students may already be compromised, according to an engineering expert.

Dublin GAA fans the Hill 16 Army are planning a moving tribute to the victims the Berkeley tragedy and brothers Alan and Steve Harris.

It was a homecoming without the embracing comforts that home promises.

Thousands have taken to social media to praise Aer Lingus for its efforts in assisting the relatives of those killed and injured in the Berkeley disaster.

Local court reports have shown that the builder of the Berkeley apartments had paid off more than $6m (€5.2m) in law suits because of bad balcony building practices.

Images of rotting wood left exposed by the deadly collapse of a balcony in Berkeley are “incredibly similar” to pictures used in a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the construction company that built the complex where six students died, it was claimed last night.

US ambassador to Ireland Kevin O’Malley has written an open letter to all Irish students on J1 visas encouraging them to stay on and finish their summer working overseas.

The American Ireland Fund has donated US $100,000 to help those affected by the Berkeley balcony collapse; The Department of Finance is having discussions on what to do in the event of a Greek exit from the eurozone; and a white man suspected of killing nine people inside an historic black church has been captured in North Carolina. Here’s this evening’s irishexaminer.com catch-up.

Books of condolence opened in Dublin, Cork, and Galway as flags on state buildings flew at half mast.

Rita de Brún suggests the words of GP Dr Harry Barry for anyone — young people in particular and their parents — struggling to cope with the Berkeley tragedy  

When a child dies, you not only mourn their loss but also the future that was denied them, and even perhaps the best of you, writes Dan Buckley

AS the nation mourns the tragic deaths of six young Irish students who died when a balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, California, the burning question that has to be answered is why such a terrible calamity happened in a city built on a known geological faultline where earthquakes occur frequently.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Chris O’Leary, opened a book of condolence in City Hall following the deaths of Irish students in Berkeley, California.

A sixth Irish person has died after a balcony collapsed on an apartment building in Berkeley, California. Read the latest on this and more in this evening’s irishexaminer.com catch-up.

A ’number of Irish’ are among five killed in a US balcony collapse; Liquidators at Clerys in Dublin have told laid-off workers there are no funds to pay redundancies; and primary education is not free, but would be for an extra €103m a year, says Fergus Finlay. Just some of the latest and most read stories on irishexaminer.com.

JUST as there’s a dish for every palate, there’s a food writer for every taste.

Friends of an Irish energy engineer who died in a yachting accident in San Francisco Bay last year have set up a special college scholarship in his honour.

A football fanatic trying to dribble a ball 16,000km from America to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup died after being hit by a pickup truck.

Joni Mitchell is ringing in these ears this week.

Pope Benedict XVI issued pleas for peace to reign across the world during his traditional Christmas address today, a call marred by Muslim extremists who attacked Christian churches in Nigeria, including bombing a Catholic Mass.

Hundreds of Christians, defying lashing rain and wind, filled the ancient Bethlehem church that marks Jesus’s traditional birthplace for Christmas Day Mass today.

CHEZ PANISSE is a legendary restaurant and café in Berkeley, California.

PRE-tax profits at the Dublin-based company that operates the ask.com website in Ireland and Britain last year decreased by 70% from $11.7 million (€8.9m) to $3.4m (€2.6m).

WE HAD a lovely invitation to spend a few days in the Bordeaux area with some French friends whose family have been making wine in the Pessac-Leognan, St Emilion, Margaux and Entre-deux-mers area since 1880.

An escaped IRA prisoner who has lived in immigration limbo for 25 years in California may see it all unravel from inside a detention centre this week.

An escaped IRA prisoner who has lived in immigration limbo for 25 years in California may see it all unravel from inside a South Texas federal detention centre this week.

THE daughter of a kidnapped newspaper heiress has been unveiled as the face — and body — of lingerie brand Myla.