I recall that many years ago at the start of a new school year certain students who had failed their previous year’s Intercert French exams used to call out vigorously the phrase “F for French” so as to annoy the French teacher who had previously taught them.

Understandably, and commendably, US president Mr Trump wants his troops out of Afghanistan and back home before he runs for a second term next year. His Mexican Wall has not been built; North Korea is still a potential nuclear power; he has not succeeded in repatriating jobs; his promise to cut the US trade deficit has been broken — it’s at a record high; federal debt has soared; and the Washington swamp, far from being drained, has been replenished. Ending an 18-year-long war that has been so costly in blood and treasure, 220,000 lives and €875bn, would be a notable tick in the credit column.

There aren’t too many images in modern history as sad, as forceful a reality check as the 1938 one of British prime minister Neville Chamberlain waving his peace-in-our-time note on an English airfield after talks with Hitler in Munich.

President Donald Trump's historic first steps into North Korea sparked a scuffle between reporters and North Korean security guards, with officials shoving and trying to block the press.

South Korea's military has said it was a flock of birds that prompted it to alert journalists that it had detected an "unidentified object" flying near the border with North Korea.

The Pirbright Institute is entering into partnership with a Belgian company to develop the first antiviral drugs against African swine fever (ASF).

Distance in today’s world erects no barriers to the spread of contagion, which is why Agriculture Minister Michael Creed and the president of the Irish Farmers’ Association have issued warnings about the westward path of African swine fever, an infection that threatens no harm to humans but which kills pigs and wild boar.

David Tennant and Michael Sheen star in a new streaming adaptation of the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, writes Georgia Humphreys.

Algeria’s economy is on its knees and the electorate is fed up of paying obeisance to an elderly demagogue, writes Zaki Laidi

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's most trusted policy adviser has been removed from one of his posts, according to a politician in South Korea.

Many US presidents didn’t see eye-to-eye with their top spies, but none has came close to the damage being wrought by the current incumbent, writes former public affairs director of the CIA, Kent Harrington.

Here are all the latest headlines this lunchtime...

Avoiding compulsory military service has a long and honourable history — from cross-dressing Corporal Klinger in MASH to Donald Trump’s bone spurs — and the recent plight of Tottenham’s South Korean striker Son Heung-min showed that the art of draft-dodging remains highly relevant, writes Tommy Martin.

Catch up on all the headlines this morning...

Here is your morning bulletin.

Your morning headlines ...

The world must have the technical solutions to guarantee the credibility of countries’ promises if denuclearisation is to succeed, write Piet de Klerk and Robert Floyd.

US President Donald Trump has cancelled the June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, citing "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement.

Here are all the latest headlines this lunchtime...

Here are all the latest headlines this lunchtime...

Your morning headlines.

US president Donald Trump says the time and place has been set for his historic meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Here are all the latest headlines this lunchtime...

As optimism surges on Korea, US president Donald Trump should know that empty promises have long been a favourite tactic of the regime in the north, argues Eli Lake.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is putting the spotlight on women in his attempts to win over world opinion.

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Aides included a section in Mr Trump's briefing materials for the Tuesday morning call stating: "DO NOT CONGRATULATE," a senior administration official has said.

North Korea's foreign minister has arrived in Sweden for talks with his Swedish counterpart.

Diplomacy, the only alternative to war, is about meeting your enemy, and that is not a sign of weakness. Donald Trump is right to meet Kim Jong Un, says Peter Van Buren

Trump administration officials have said there will be no more conditions imposed on North Korea before a meeting of the two nations' leaders.

"Although we are disappointed, we respect the decision of the two National Paralympic Committees."

The Trump administration has escalated pressure on North Korea by slapping sanctions on scores of companies and ships accused of illicit trading with the pariah nation.

Here's your morning news bulletin...

The US is preparing to announce the "toughest and most aggressive" economic sanctions against North Korea, boosting pressure on the regime during the Winter Olympics, Mike Pence has said.

John Halligan says his proposed trip to North Korea was purely about creating cultural ties.

Ireland has been awarded a prestigious international peace prize.

The weather from September 2016 through to August 2017 was one of the most benign continuous periods of fine weather in Ireland.

“JAW-JAW is always better than war-war” — a reflection on the nature of conflict attributed to both Harold McMillan and Winston Churchill.

A word of advice for Irish Olympians competing in South Korea next month: the cold is back for the Winter Games.

US President Donald Trump has predicted 2018 will be a "tremendous year" after bidding farewell to 2017 with a lavish party at his private club in Florida.

Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath has called for economic sanctions to be agreed against Israel over “unfair” treatment of Palestinians, writes Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe

The UN's political chief has said senior North Korea officials told him during his visit "that it was important to prevent war" over its rapidly advancing nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Hawaii has conducted its first test of a siren to warn the public of a possible nuclear attack from North Korea.

Irish politics has been in a state of flux since the unusual general election of February 2016, writes Jim Power.