Lunchtime briefing: Pope Francis confirms visit to Ireland. Catch up on the headlines

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

IRELAND

Pope Francis is to visit Ireland in August 2018. The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said Pope Francis confirmed the visit during their meeting in the Vatican today.

There are calls for the company behind a Cystic Fibrosis drug to put their patients before profits. It emerged at the weekend that the HSE views the drug Orkambi, which is manufactured by Vertex, as "unjustifiably expensive".

Homeowners and renters face a system of water charges but only after a free allowance is used up.

The chief executive of one the country’s largest maternity hospitals is facing an unprecedented revolt among doctors because of chronic underinvestment in its gynaecology service where 4,193 women are awaiting outpatient appointments.

WORLD 

Thousands of residents have been fleeing eastern Aleppo after simultaneous advances inside the divided city by Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces.

Plans revealing thousands of plots by the Islamic State terror group to attack Europe have been discovered by coalition forces fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq, Britain’s top commander in the region has claimed.

A controversial tax on backpackers working in Australia has been signed off.

Former Olympic ice dancer Tatiana Navka and her on-screen partner have caused controversy by dressing up in concentration camp uniforms for a routine on a popular television show.

SPORT

The writers at Irish Examiner Sport round up the weekend’s Premier League talking points.

Lewis Hamilton is in hot water with Mercedes after defying team orders at the championship-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Here, we examine what Hamilton is adjudged to have done and the repercussions he may now face.

After this momentous win against Australia, who knows what this Irish squad is capable of achieving.

Ex-footballer and manager of Republic of Ireland Steve Staunton declared himself bankrupt, liquidating his assets voluntarily.

OPINION

If you’re looking for its Achilles heel, you won’t find it in the labour wards or the neonatal unit. But are colossal gynaecology waiting lists threatening the reputation of Ireland’s newest maternity hospital? Health Correspondent Catherine Shanahan says consultants are at breaking point and women’s lives are being put at risk

BUSINESS

Tourism bosses expect the number of British visitors to fall in the wake of the Brexit vote, but they expect overall tourist numbers to continue to rise.

Investec Ireland has described 2016 as a "year of two halves" for the Irish economy.

LIFESTYLE

Before he succumbs to terminal cancer, Colin Butts wants to find the Irishwoman who gave him up for adoption, writes Arlene Harris

SHOWBIZ

Robbie Williams has told how anti-depressants are helping to put his demons to bed.

VIRAL

Workers are finding it difficult to do their job because colleagues eat smelly food for lunch, including oily fish, cheese or egg sandwiches, a study found.

When a fishing spider came across a honey bee hive, it was probably expecting an easy meal.

VIDEO - OUR CHOICE

A quality display by Kerry champions Kenmare meant this Munster club intermediate football final was as good as over at half-time in Mallow, Co Cork, yesterday.

TECHNOW

GAMING: The folks at Hello Games aren't quite done with No Man's Sky yet. They've just released a major update that pretty much change the entire game.

MOVIES/TV: The CW is getting all of its DC superheroes together for one massive week of crossovers. And it's going to be pretty epic.

TECH: Huawei is expanding further into video Research and Development, and Ireland will be along for the ride with the annoucement of a new video research centre in Dublin.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

Bus Éireann is going to run an ad campaign on the side of their buses for the pressure group Fathers 4 Justice, riffing on the Dog’s Trust slogan: “A father is for life, not just for conception.”