Catch-up with what you've missed so far today with our lunchtime briefing

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS

“This not a time to mess around,” Taosieach Enda Kenny proclaimed to a welly clad and rain drenched bunch who had made their way into the Fine Gael tent at the National Ploughing Championships.  Before leaving Government Buildings for the firm Co Offaly soil, Mr Kenny had hinted to journalists he would be staying put as party leader until 2018.

The question of succession still looms large in farming, with the Irish Examiner / ICMSA poll showing that more than one-quarter  of respondents do not plan on leaving the land to a son or daughter.

IRELAND

Three children, including five-month-old twins, are in a stable condition and expected to make a full recovery after suffering burns in a   writes Irish Examiner Reporter Eoin English.

Irish Water will get a €660m bailout this year but a decision to suspend water charges could have “big consequences”  for funding other services next year, warns Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

More than 300 people are on hospital trolleys today,  according to the latest figures from nurses.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses after two women were killed in a crash in Co Donegal.  The collision happened on the R252 near Ballybofey at around 4.15pm yesterday afternoon.

A former New York bomb squad detective credited with saving countless children's lives  during the Troubles, and hailed by former President Bill Clinton as a symbol for the North's peace process, is the subject of a new documentary.

A senior civil servant received a €1.119m severance package  from an unknown Government department during the worst years of the recession,  writes Irish Examiner Political Reporter, Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.

WORLD 

Egyptian authorities have arrested four people in connection with the death of at least 42 migrants  whose Europe-bound boat capsized off Egypt's Mediterranean coast.

Donald Trump's tax proposals would increase the US federal debt by US$5.3 trillion over the next decade,   according to analysis from a non-partisan financial group.

SPORT

The Cork County Board last night clarified the situation with senior inter-county panel expenses  after the Irish Examiner were informed there were several outstanding issues.

John Fogarty assesses the major candidates  to take over from Davy Fitz...

BUSINESS

Telecoms firm eir has announced the creation of a further 100 jobs  as a direct result of the rollout of high-speed fibre broadband across Ireland.

Global economic growth will flounder this year and next at rates not seen since the financial crisis  as the march of globalisation grinds to a halt, international economic think-tank the OECD warned yesterday.

LIFESTYLE

Sophie White refreshingly explores topics from her life that are often seen as taboo in polite society.  Clodagh Finn meets for a chat and finds out the recipes that helped her through motherhood.

ANALYSIS

Almost one in four farmers said they had driven home after consuming as many as three pints in the past six months, while one in five said they would feel “safe enough” getting behind the wheel after drinking as many as four pints, reports Noel-Baker.

VIDEO

The annual parade of Champions  takes place on the last day of the National Ploughing Championships at Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

VIRAL

It's a debate that has occupied Irish minds for hundreds of years. What defines a culchie and a townie  and who holds the right to bestow these labels on people? Remember, once you complete this quiz, there's no going back. Answer carefully.

Following the shock news that Mary Berry has stepped down from her role in The Great British Bake Off tent, her co-judge Paul Hollywood revealed he is staying on the series  when it moves from the BBC to Channel 4.

TECHNOW

GAMING: Dishonored 2 is coming in November,  and that means it's time to get your creative kills in order.

MOVIES/TV: Celebrities definitely don't read that much about themselves online- for one thing the sheer volume would make it pretty difficult for them to do anything else with their lives and it's also generally a place of extreme negativity.  Those two worlds collide in the Jimmy Kimmel segment Celebrities Read Mean Tweets which is pretty genius and now in its 10th video. Check it out below.

TECH: How much does the iPhone 7  cost to make?   Find out here.

SHOWBIZ

After breaking the news on the Brangelina split, TMZ have now reported that Brad Pitt is under investigation  for child abuse by the LAPD and L.A. County Dept of Children and Family Services.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

A senior civil servant received a €1.119m severance package  from an unknown Government department during the worst years of the recession,  writes Irish Examiner Political Reporter, Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.