Ireland had a lucky escape as Europe&s increasingly erratic weather played havoc with daily life last year, breaking records, claiming lives and costing billions.

Pop singer Katy Perry and five other women have safely returned to Earth after they were blasted into space on an all-female rocket launch.

Hungary&s parliament yesterday passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics call another step towards authoritarianism by the populist government.

The UK and France are planning to present Donald Trump with a comprehensive plan for a post-war &reassurance force& in Ukraine that they hope will persuade the US president to commit to security guarantees for Kyiv, according to people familiar with the matter.