The Irish Press - News from Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Drogheda, Galyway, Ireland and the world

Jasmine Paolini says she has got a taste for playing on the biggest stage after a sensational 2024 rocketed her to world number four, with more of the same on her agenda this season.

India lost Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja but were stubbornly inching closer to the follow-on mark as they reached 244-7 at lunch on day three of the fourth Test against Australia on Saturday.

World number one Scottie Scheffler will miss the PGA Tour's season opening event in Hawaii after injuring his hand while making Christmas dinner, the player's manager said on Friday.

Arsenal began life without Bukayo Saka by beating Ipswich 1-0 to move into second place in the Premier League and cut Liverpool's lead to six points on Friday.

Declan Rice is hoping 2025 brings silverware for Arsenal but knows they need some help to deny a rampant Liverpool the Premier League title.

US President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance.

Arsenal began life without Bukayo Saka by beating Ipswich 1-0 to move into second place in the Premier League and cut Liverpool's lead to six points on Friday.

Australian supermaxi LawConnect took back-to-back line honours in the Sydney-Hobart ocean race early Saturday, leading a fleet shaken by the deaths of two sailors in wild weather conditions.

The top UN official for humanitarian aid in Yemen, who narrowly dodged an aerial bombing raid by Israel on Sanaa's airport, denied Friday that the facility had any military purpose.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo said on Friday it was "unfair" that Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior missed out on this year's award.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that "several" wounded North Korean soldiers died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accused Russia of throwing them into battle with "minimal protection".

The ongoing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts -- not just because of human cases causing severe illness, but also due to troubling new instances of infections in cats.

A fresh air strike hit Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Friday, the Iran-backed Huthis said, after they claimed to have carried out new attacks on Israel amid mounting hostilities.

Netflix's debut NFL broadcasts on Christmas Day received positive reviews and record streaming ratings but still attracted fewer viewers than the linear broadcasts last Christmas.

The bird flu virus found in a severely ill patient hospitalized in the United States has mutated to become better adapted to human airways, though there is no evidence it has spread beyond the individual, authorities said.

Slovakia on Friday confirmed its readiness to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv's accusation that it is playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

French skier Cyprien Sarrazin is in intensive care after suffering a subdural haematoma following a nasty crash on Friday during training for a World Cup downhill race in Bormio, Italy.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said it is not realistic to suffer just one Premier League defeat every two months as he challenged his players to react positively to a shock 2-1 home defeat by Fulham.

Hopes for a Santa Claus rally on Wall Street fell Friday as tech stocks slid lower, while a weaker yen lifted Japanese equities.

Zimbabwe and their veteran batter Sean Williams created Test records on Friday against Afghanistan, who trailed by 491 runs after the second day of the first Test in Bulawayo.

Australian supermaxi LawConnect took back-to-back line honours in the Sydney-Hobart ocean race early Saturday, leading a fleet shaken by the deaths of two sailors in wild weather conditions.

Barcelona's star winger Lamine Yamal has vowed to "come back better" after injuring his right ankle earlier this month during a La Liga match.

A Spanish court on Friday said it had rejected Barcelona's request to register Dani Olmo beyond the year's end, potentially pushing the star closer to leaving the Catalan giants for free.

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Afaf Mohammed did what she could not for more than a decade: she climbed Mount Qasyun to admire a sleeping Damascus "from the sky" and watch the sun rise.

Debutant Corbin Bosch hit 81 not out and left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen claimed two late wickets as South Africa took control on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at SuperSport Park on Friday.

Ruben Amorim accepts his reign as Manchester United manager could be short-lived if he cannot oversee an upturn in the fallen English giants' fortunes.

A man was flogged inside a Malaysia mosque on Friday after being convicted of an Islamic offence for spending time alone with a woman who was neither his wife or relative, state news said.

Montenegro announced on Friday that it would extradite South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon to the United States, following a year and a half of dizzying court rulings and subsequent reversals over his removal.

Authorities in Brazil said Friday they are probing Chinese auto giant BYD and one of its contractors for suspected "trafficking" of Chinese workers building a factory in the South American country.

A weaker yen lifted Japanese equities on Friday, while Wall Street's major indices slid in quiet holiday trading.

Arne Slot insists Liverpool's commanding position at the top of the Premier League table has led to no extra strain during his first season in charge at Anfield.

Holidaymakers are returning to Paris for winter holiday magic as the tourism industry rebounds, inspired by the successful Olympic Games and the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan this week suffered physical "external interference", the airline and Azerbaijan's transport minister said Friday, citing preliminary results of an investigation, adding to speculation it was hit by a Russian air defence system.

Under-fire Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou on Friday insisted he was joking when he said being a Premier League manager was harder than being Prime Minister.

A man who killed 35 people in a car attack in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai last month was sentenced to death on Friday, state media reported.

Debutant fast bowler Corbin Bosch, batting at number nine, hit an attacking 81 not out and took South Africa to a 90-run first-innings lead on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at SuperSport Park on Friday.

Russia's aviation chief said Friday that an Azerbaijani Airlines plane that eventually crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land in the Chechen city of Grozny as it was being attacked by Ukrainian drones.

French skier Cyprien Sarrazin is "conscious" after being airlifted to hospital following a nasty crash Friday during training for a World Cup downhill race in Bormio, Italy.

NATO will bolster its military presence in the Baltic Sea after the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week, the Western military alliance's chief Mark Rutte said on Friday.