Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, has reached the age of 68. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the world’s oldest known bird arrived back at her breeding colony on Midway Atoll in November. She had laid an egg by December 3rd. This season’s chick may be her 37th.

As we put back the clocks this weekend, could it really be for the last time?

This is the man once reputed to have installed a Bass tap in his home bar to facilitate the favoured tipple of Bertie Ahern, writes Michael Clifford

Katie Taylor extended her pro record to a perfect 10-0 with an emphatic win at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.

The head of the Irish wing of Swedish furniture giant, Ikea, remained silent on its plans for a second store in Cork, but said that the firm has a “very strong growth agenda in Ireland”. It is enjoying a 10% rise in annual sales.

Lovers of Swedish furniture behemoth IKEA across the country no longer have to plan a trip to Ballymun in Dublin in advance -- they can now shop from the comfort of their own home.

Nine females - three aged 11 - have been approached and sexually touched by an attacker in the last three months, UK police have said.

British IS recruiter Sally-Anne Jones, dubbed the White Widow, is understood to have been killed in a US drone strike.

It was the 100th RNLI lifeboat crew to be photographed by Jack Lowe, who is not even halfway through the project he has committed about five years of his life to.

A 14-year-old girl was raped in a south-east London park in broad daylight.

Dan MacCarthy discusses dragons and knights found on Clare Island, Co Mayo

In true nerd style, I came across an interesting documentary the other night about trains and England, and how the rail network shaped that country in terms of commuters, building, culture, architecture.

EVERYTHING is very plain and modern now,” a dying man tells the author Jack London roughly halfway through Minds of Winter, warning the writer against the gothic, supernatural excesses of the yarn he is spinning in a hospital ward.

A group of elderly women travel to Amsterdam to try marijuana in A Granny’s Guide To The Modern World on Wednesday at 11pm on Channel 4.

A ‘fourth industrial revolution’ is on the way that could lead to millions of job losses in Europe and the developing world, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Some of the stranger stories from around the world

A couple who lost treasured jewellery and a 1930s cycling medal in a burglary 10 years ago have been reunited with their valuables after a police dive team chanced upon the property at the bottom of a pond.

The owner of a car swallowed up by a sinkhole said he was “thankful” his family were not hurt in the incident.

Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed a €2.55bn deal to sell European lager brands Peroni and Grolsch as it moves a step closer to sealing its takeover of SABMiller.

The wife of bankrupt developer Sean Dunne wants to cross-examine a lawyer representing the official dealing with Mr Dunne’s bankruptcy in the US as part of her bid to halt Irish proceedings against her.

Not quite the “if you’re Irish come into the parlour” evocation” but there’s a huge sense of the green jersey at play in this Greenwich, New York townhouse. 

If you’re off to the British capital for the Rugby World Cup and plan hanging around for a few days , then Conor Power has the lowdown on how to fall in love again with London town.

Ikea will next year begin paying its staff in Britain a living wage above the compulsory level set out by the government this month, the world’s largest furniture retailer said.

The wife of bankrupt developer Sean Dunne wants to halt “oppressive” Commercial Court proceedings brought against her over alleged invalid transfers of various of her husband’s assets to her, including a hotel in South Africa valued at more than €18m.

The bankrupt Sean Dunne and his family still live like globe-trotting millionaires

Brewing giant, SABMiller is buying Britain’s Meantime Brewing Company, snapping up one of the pioneers of craft brewing to give the owner of big brands such as Peroni and Grolsch exposure to a fast-growing part of the drinks market.

Google’s purpose-built driverless cars have been given the green light to drive on public roads for the first time.

Cathy Desmond took a bite of the Big Apple some thirty years ago — and now that she’s back for more, she finds a calmer, quieter place.

EastEnders actress Linda Henry is due to stand trial today accused of racially aggravated harassment outside a Jamie Oliver restaurant.

Romania: Cut-price bridal gowns brought wedding organisers in Romania more than they bargained for, when two brides-to-be scrapped over a lavish dress.

A new study has put Dublin as the best place in Europe - and second in the entire world - for US citizens to live in.

>Driverless cars, for which extensive testing starts in Britain in the new year, could be on the roads within 15 years, engineers believe.

Fears are growing for a missing Irish rugby coach who vanished from his home in London on Wednesday.

EastEnders actress Linda Henry is to stand trial accused of racially aggravated harassment outside a Jamie Oliver restaurant.

EAT THAT

IT’S the GAA matches in the car they’ll miss. Or Joe Duffy while out for a walk. Or the Angelus. Or the company of Irish voices from a portable radio propped up on a bedside locker when sleep won’t come.

Transport chiefs have launched an investigation after a gay couple were reportedly thrown off a bus for kissing.

Transport chiefs in England have launched an investigation after a gay couple were reportedly thrown off a bus for kissing.

And you'll never guess who officiated the cermony.

FOOTBALL FAILURES

Aoife ní Mhaoileoin is preparing to sail 2,400 miles across the Pacific in a boat with no engine and no sail, writes Claire Droney.