Thursday lunchtime briefing: The latest on the teachers' strike. Catch up on the headlines

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

IRELAND

Teachers are claiming the Government has left them with no other option.

Kerry's Danny Healy-Rae says nuclear testing in the Pacific ocean 50 years ago is what caused the hole in the ozone layer.

The Government is likely to slash its €12.2bn valuation of AIB on the State’s books by billions to reflect the torrid times facing European bank shares this year, according to analysts.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has said he is considering bringing forward a high-level meeting on road safety.

WORLD 

A former Republican congressman from Illinois says he plans to grab his musket if GOP nominee Donald Trump loses the presidential election.

The company that owns an Australian theme park where four people died on a ride has defended its safety record as police vetoed plans to reopen to the public three days after the tragedy.

Dozens of children have reportedly been forced to sleep on the roadside of the Calais Jungle, despite French officials declaring the clearance complete.

“Tear gas has been used, live bullets, stun bombs, there have been incursions and arrests, people have been shot, houses ransacked. We are scared of Israeli soldiers, we want it to stop.” These are the words of Leyan, 14, a pupil at the UN school in the Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank.

SPORT

Five-time world amateur champion Katie Taylor has drawn a line under her glittering amateur career in order to turn professional with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport.

The O’Donovan brothers, Gary and Paul, believe their busy competitive schedule has helped them avoid any dramatic Olympic comedown following their success in Rio last August.

Jamie Carragher is used to jousting with battle hardened Gary Neville on Sky Sports, but for last night's EFL Cup tie between Manchester United and Manchester City, Gary's younger and infinitely more polite brother Phil was on duty.

There were so many memorable moments during Saturday’s game at Thomond Park that it would be easy to overlook Jaco Taute’s try and the ecstatic manner in which he showed how much it meant to him, clutching the Munster logo on his jersey and exultantly saluting the crowd.

OPINION/ANALYSIS

A late entrant to the profession tells Education Correspondent Niall Murray that over a 25-year career the pay gap between him and colleagues will amount to €200,000

BUSINESS

Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Lissadell House, Co Sligo, have joined forces to launch ‘Taste the Atlantic: a Seafood Journey’, an exhibition celebrating Ireland’s long tradition in oyster farming.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten has rejected claims there is a problem with Irish media ownership “plurality” after an independent EU report raised questions about Denis O’Brien’s level of involvement in the industry.

LIFESTYLE

In 1661, Florence Newton fell foul of the febrile imagination of a Cork community living in fear and riven with superstitious beliefs, writes Billy O’Riordan

SHOWBIZ

Eddie Redmayne has revealed he was so nervous about appearing at Comic Con for the first time that his co-star Colin Farrell had to calm him down with a back rub.

VIRAL

A Celtic cross has appeared in a forest close to Killea, Co. Donegal.

The Cork Guinness Jazz Festival weekend is nearly upon us and one Cork pub has gotten to the heart of the celebration in their promo video released on Wednesday.

VIDEO

The 65th Wexford Festival Opera 2016 got off to a great start last night with a gorgeous firework display over Wexford Quay.

TECHNOW

GAMING: The start of a new month does bring some good things, including a bundle of free games from your PlayStation Plus subscription. And for the new month, there's one game that we highly recommend.

MOVIES/TV: Olympus has Fallen and London has Fallen were fun enough throwback action films with a focus on nasty violence and some silly one liners. Well there's more on the way.

TECH: Apple had been promising the launch of their new AirPods by the end of October, but that's not going to happen.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

A 15-year jail term, with the last five years suspended, was imposed on a young woman for setting fire to an apartment building in Mallow causing the deaths of two of her friends