The start of the UK peak of the coronavirus epidemic is expected within the next fortnight, England’s deputy chief medical officer has said, as cases rose to 373 and a sixth death was announced.

Estate agency chiefs at Lisney and Sherry FitzGerald said there has been limited to no fallout so far from the coronavirus outbreak on Irish residential and commercial property sales.

On Wednesday last, Julian Assange asked that he be allowed out from behind the bulletproof glass that encloses the dock.

The ECB’s growing confidence that the eurozone economy was on the mend may suffer a setback as the continent reels from the economic fallout of the coronavirus, a leading economist has said.

Don’t mention the war? It would be nice not to have to but Ireland’s Six Nations opener takes place in the engorging shadow of last autumn’s ill-starred Asian campaign. Yes, we won’t be forgetting the debacle in Vietnam – sorry, I mean Japan – any time soon. The horror, the horror remains fresh in the memory.

Bryan Stevenson is the American civil rights lawyer who provided the inspiration for the newly-released film Just Mercy. Esther McCarthy spoke to him in Ireland

New research has shown that 80% of all children adopted into Ireland over the past three decades have come from just five countries.

The Chinese Year of the Rat begins on January 25 and the decorations were already up in Ka Shing on Wicklow Street, a little oasis of Chinese bustle just steps away from Brown Thomas.

As 2019 ends, there is relief that political interference did not overly damage trade, but whereas we have escaped the bullet this time, we may not be so lucky in the new year.

A promising African swine fever (ASF) vaccine has emerged in the US.

If you’re a little fragile this morning, though, join me in thanking the man who sent me a link to a terrific ESPN article, one of those items where the headline alone sells you on the story.

A few months after the 37th president of the United States resigned when faced with the near certainty of impeachment, his one-time senior adviser Henry Kissinger gave his verdict on the former leader of the free world.

Well-known figures such as Fiona Shaw, Joe Duffy and Sonia O’Sullivan tell Richard Fitzpatrick about the reads they’ve been most impressed with in 2019.

Palestine could have been wound up in 1967

Growing up in Cork, Stephen Bradley dreamed of becoming an actor.

Non-federal US actors — from state governments to private businesses — have laid a strong foundation for effective climate action, says Jules Kortenhorst and Andrew Steer

A quiet climate action revolution is taking place as fund managers question their investments in firms not dealing with their emissions, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The remains of the last 23 of 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a lorry near London in October have been brought to Vietnam.

Nostalgia is bigger than it used to be. A great fear of what’s coming down the tracks has turned the world towards the good old days.

It is reported that detectives in Vietnam have arrested eight people after 39 bodies were found in the back of a lorry in Essex.

Ronan Hughes, and his brother Christopher, 34, both from Co Armagh were named earlier this week as people the police wanted to speak to in connection with the deaths.

November 3 is National Sandwich Day.

The Chinese and Vietnamese nationals found dead in a container in England were ultimately victims of a society where people are objectified for profit, writes Vittorio Bufacchi.

The final text message sent by a woman who is thought to have perished with 38 others in a refrigerated truck in Essex was to tell her mother she loved her.

"I’m sorry Mum. My journey abroad hasn’t succeeded. Mum, I love you so much! I’m dying because I can’t breathe..."

Front Line Defenders has launched the ‘Set Them Free’ campaign to shine a light on the fate of 11 human rights defenders suffering long-term imprisonment for what the group has called "their legitimate work defending and advancing the rights of their communities".

I was always a townie but I think by now I have to admit to being a city boy despite growing up in the midlands. What makes the city such an appealing concept for me is the mix of cultures rubbing off each other.

Spike Island in Co Cork and the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare are in contention to be named World's Best Attraction at the prestigious International Travel and Tourism Awards. (ITTA)