Evening round-up: National Broadband Plan; Record High Court payment; Royal Baby

So that’s Wednesday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

TO INFORM

Broadband billions: The civil servant overseeing the broadband plan has strongly defended the project, insisting that any decision to halt it would “likely result in the marginalisation of rural communities.”

Anastasia Kriegel: Schoolgirl Anastasia Kriegel had a noose made from blue tape wrapped around her neck and appeared to be trying to pull it away, the garda who discovered her body has told the Central Criminal Court trial of the two boys accused of her murder.

Record damages: A nine-year-old boy left brain damaged and permanently disabled after a failure to diagnose an infection when he was a baby has settled his High Court action against Temple Street Children's Hospital, Dublin with a final record damages payment of €25m.

Rugby 7s Tournament: Drugs worth an estimated €11,000 were seized and 29 people were arrested as part of a large garda operation mounted during the Kinsale 7s rugby tournament in Co Cork over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Common Travel Area: Ireland and the UK have signed an agreement to protect the rights of both Irish and British citizens "in all circumstances" after Brexit, which recommits to the existing Common Travel Area arrangements and pledges that they will continue whether the UK leaves the EU without a deal

Mueller report: The White House is invoking executive privilege, reserving the right to block the full release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia probe, escalating President Donald Trump’s battle with Congress.

Adrienne Cullen: A Dutch hospital responsible for the death through medical negligence of an Irish patient has apologised to the widower in the case after their CEO accused him of scapegoating her.

Barcelona FC:: Barcelona were subjected to "the biggest ridicule in history", according to the Spanish media, as Liverpool left the Catalans "blushing" with a remarkable 4-0 Champions League comeback win at Anfield.

TO ENGAGE

Cork on the Rise: There are numerous similarities between Aarhus and Cork. Apart from being their respective countries’ second largest cities — Cork with 130,000 inhabitants whilst Aarhus has 330,000 — they share a Viking heritage; are important river/coastal harbours with international status; have large, top-quality universities with important connections to the business community; and outstanding landscapes.

European elections: Next week, Social Justice Ireland and Trócaire will co-host a hustings event ahead of the European Elections on May 24th. Dr. Seán Healy sets out the five key policy asks in that joint policy platform.

TO ENTERTAIN

Royal Baby: Meghan and Harry have named their baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, but have chosen not to give him a title. He will be known simply as Archie, with Master as a prefix when required.

Dr Eva Osmond: Dr Eva Orsmond shares her knowledge on how to slow down your biological clock. Since time began we have coveted youth. But while we can do nothing about advancing years, most medical experts believe that we can help prolong our lives by following a healthy lifestyle.

Most Read

A Judge has been told that motorists "doing doughnuts" is a particular problem in west Cork after an incident detected by gardaí in which three cars were pulling stunts on the main street of a village.