Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said it is "only a matter of time" before same-sex marriage is introduced in Northern Ireland, as he attended a gay Pride event in Belfast.

One in five Irish employees would be prepared to pay a bribe or act unethically if they knew it would lead to a pay rise — while almost half of Irish employees believe corruption is widespread, a survey has found.

Irish-headquartered builders’ merchants and DIY firm Grafton Group have bought a market leading Dutch company in its biggest ever deal in Continental Europe.

Hungarian authorities began busing weary migrants and refugees to a nearby registration centre, defusing some tensions at Hungary’s southern border with Serbia.

Grafton, the Dublin-headquartered builders merchanting and DIY retail group, is actively reviewing opportunities to expand its operational presence in western Europe.

Petko Angelov grabs an old, rusted sickle and leads people clad in folk costumes to a ritual harvest in his fields in southern Bulgaria sown with the first ever wheat planted by humanity — the einkorn.

Vladimir Putin appears all but certain to return to the Kremlin in tomorrow’s Russian presidential election, but he will find himself in charge of a country far more willing to challenge him.

Kate O’Brien’s dissection of Irish society will be discussed at this weekend’s celebration of her life, writes Colette Sheridan

Carlos the Jackal has been sentenced to life in prison – again – in a Paris trial that ended with him rallying for revolution and weeping for Muammar Gaddafi.

A French court has convicted terror leader Carlos the Jackal of organising four deadly attacks in France in the 1980s and sentenced him to life in prison.

The FTSE 100 Index marched further towards the 6000 mark as stocks shook off disappointing economic news in the UK and US.

Downing Street today condemned the publication of leaked US diplomatic cables thought to feature embarrassing criticism of David Cameron, the Duke of York and the British military.

Arab rulers secretly lobbied America to launch air strikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme according to leaked US diplomatic cables, it was reported tonight.

IBEC and the IFSC have both weighed in on the debate over the prospect of Ireland having to raise its corporate tax rate in return for a bailout agreement, saying such a move would be “counter-productive” and “against basic EU policy”.

A newborn baby and four children were among the 395 people newly diagnosed with HIV last year, it was disclosed today.

HUNDREDS of sufferers of debilitating conditions like Parkinson’s, essential tremor and dystonia are set to benefit from a revolutionary surgery allowing them to control the outward symptoms of the diseases.

New treatments are improving cancer cure rates for women in Ireland, according to a report published today.

A top Russian prosecutor today said the killer of journalist Anna Politkovskaya is hiding in Western Europe.

ONLY one-in-10 Irish adults have some degree of flexibility over their working time, according to a new EU survey.

A MAJOR research project is to be undertaken to determine the scale of the illegal trafficking of woman and children into Ireland.

INWARD investment to Ireland increased by 10% last year, according to the latest Ernst & Young report.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Moscow today for high-level meetings amid growing Russia-US tensions underlined by President Vladimir Putin’s increasing criticism of the American administration.

The number of diagnosed cancer cases will more than double between 2000 and 2030, primarily in poor countries, A United Nations research agency said today.

Media and advertising giant WPP reported a hike in revenues today, but admitted markets in the UK and Western European remained challenging.

The outgoing chairman of mobile phone giant Vodafone robustly defended its chief executive today after shareholders expressed concerns over his leadership.

The urgent roll-out of national screening programmes was called for today after a study revealed the cancer death rate among Irish women is higher than in most other European countries.

Irish women are more likely to die from cancer than those in most other western European nations, according to a report published today by the Women's Health Council and the National Cancer Registry.

The stand-off between Russia and Ukraine over gas supplies sent a shiver running through western European countries fearing they may become innocent victims of the dispute between Moscow and Kiev.

The Government was today urged to implement tighter controls at airports and ports to prevent the spread of bird flu, after a parrot which died in quarantine in the UK was found to have the disease.

BUFFETED by the Portlaoise breeze, the shabby red carpet leading to the entrance of the Heritage Hotel was a fitting welcome for Enda Kenny, the man who would be king.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, visiting Moscow on a trip to mend relations after a bitter election campaign, appointed the Gas Princess as his prime minister today – a move likely to anger the Kremlin.

MILITARY chiefs have been struggling to bring control to the chaotic aftermath of the siege at a school in southern Russia, an expert said.

Military chiefs have been struggling to bring control to the chaotic aftermath of the siege at a school in southern Russia, an expert said today.

Irish workers reportedly get less paid holidays than workers in any other western European nation.

IRELAND tops the table in Western Europe for ecstasy and amphetamine use, according to a United Nations drug report.

TRAFFIC accidents are the main cause of almost a third of all child deaths in Western Europe, a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows.

Turkish rescue teams were searching for about 60 illegal immigrants missing in the Mediterranean today after their boat sank.

LARGE parts of Europe continued to swelter yesterday under a record-breaking heatwave that has already caused deadly forest fires, a crisis for many farmers and dangerously high ozone levels.