Your Thursday lunchtime news catch-up

Irish Water has denied ‘secret deals’ to not install water meters in homes of protestors, Brian Cowen accuses bankers over economy, Greece is braced for more chaos on the streets and Irish entertainer Val Doonican passed last night, aged 88. Just some of the latest and most read stories on irishexaminer.com.

Thu, 02 Jul, 2015 - 01:00

TOP STORY

VIDEO: Irish Water denies ‘secret deals’ to not install water meters in homes of protestors

Irish Water contractors are not installing meters in the homes of protestors after striking secret deals.

Last night's protest outside Leinster House 'not acceptable', says Senator

A Senator caught up in a protest outside Leinster House has said that yesterday's scenes were unacceptable.

IRELAND

Cowen accuses bankers over economy

There have been feisty exchanges at the banking inquiry where former Taoiseach Brian Cowen was giving evidence.

Eight held over Tunisian massacre

Eight people are in custody on suspicion of direct links to a deadly attack on a Tunisian beach resort, while police have released four others detained earlier in the investigation.

MOST READ: VIDEO: Baltimore Drownings: ‘Valiant’ search continues for missing student

The search for missing student Barry Davis Ryan will continue this morning, as a doctor on the scene of Tuesday’s tragedy praised the “valiant” and “phenomenal” efforts of rescue teams who took Barry Ryan Sr and Niamh O’Connor from the sea near Baltimore.

SPORT

VIDEO: Waterford hurlers showcase stunning skills in charity crossbar challenge

Waterford’s Pa ‘the legend’ Walsh shows incredible skill to help his team support their nominated charity Pieta House.

MOST READ: Conor Counihan: ‘Player independence gone’

All-Ireland winning Cork manager Conor Counihan is concerned that the growing support structures in Gaelic games are stunting the independence of players on the field.

WORLD

Greece talks stall but banks keep lifeline for pensioners

Greece is braced for more chaos on the streets outside its mostly shuttered banks after Athens and its creditors halted talks on resolving the country’s deepening financial crisis until a referendum this weekend.

We are not alone in universe: Biologist

A leading biologist has claimed “we are not alone”, arguing that extra-terrestrials resembling humans must have evolved on other planets.

ANALYSIS

Rushing through legislation - Irish Water charade continues

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his cabinet have done so many U-turns on Irish Water that they should consider taking dancing lessons.

EXAMVIRAL

VIDEO: One man makes daring wingsuit flight through two metre cave

One man decided to do something incredibly impressive/dangerous involving a GoPro and a wingsuit.

MOST READ: Snapchat ditches tap-and-hold to save 'tired thumbs'

It’s a good day for your digits as Snapchat has announced it is making a “pretty big change” to the photo-sharing app by removing the press-and-hold gesture required to view images.

TECHNOW

Liam Neeson's son will play Collins in The Rising

Michael Neeson will follow in the footsteps of his father by taking on the role of Michael Collins. He will play the iconic role in The Rising, a new Irish film about the events of 1916.

MOST READ: Facebook has a new logo; Does it look pretty much the same?

The Facebook has a new logo. It looks quite like the old one.

BUSINESS

Ryanair June traffic up almost 15%

Ryanair’s June traffic grew by 14% to 9.5m customers in June, the airline reported today.

MOST READ: NTMA restarts bonus payments with near €80,000 outlay in 2014

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has confirmed that the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) last year paid bonuses to staff for the first time since 2012.

LIFESTYLE