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Inquest opens in Ireland abortion row death
An inquest into the death of an Indian dentist in Ireland after she was reportedly denied an abortion for her miscarrying fetus is due to open Monday in Galway.
The death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway on October 28, 2012, prompted anger in Ireland and elsewhere, and sparked demands for Ireland to introduce new abortion laws.
The Halappanavar family says Savita died of blood poisoning after doctors declined to abort her miscarrying fetus because of Ireland's strict laws. Her husband says she was advised her unborn baby would likely die.
Praveen Halappanavar says his wife, who was in extreme pain, asked for the abortion, but was told that Ireland is a Catholic country and an abortion could not be done while the fetus was alive.
More details may emerge at Monday's hearing into the events leading to the 31-year-old's death.
FULL STORYIreland to send troop trainers to Mali in ‘historic’ pairing with British
Ireland plans to send up to eight troops with UK service members to train forces in Mali - the first time the republic will have made a joint deployment with the UK since Ireland broke away last century, Ireland's defense ministry said.
“I believe that the provision of a joint UK/Ireland contingent is another step in the normalization of relations between” the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, Ireland Defense Minister Alan Shatter said Wednesday.
Irish Daily Star editor resigns over Kate Middleton topless photos
The editor of the Irish Daily Star resigned Saturday "as a result of the publication on 15 September 2012" of topless photos of the duchess of Cambridge, according to a statement from the paper.
The images showed Catherine Middleton, the wife of Britain's Prince William, sunbathing, igniting a firestorm of controversy in the British media and stern comments from Buckingham Palace.
The editor, Michael O'Kane, had been suspended earlier after the September 15 edition hit the newsstands.
FULL STORYFalse alarm declared in Dublin bomb scare
[Updated at 8:40 a.m. ET] An Irish army bomb squad searched the Israeli Embassy in Dublin after a suspicious device was reported Tuesday, but declared the incident a false alarm, police said.
Police said the embassy was evacuated, but Israel's Foreign Ministry said it wasn't.
[Posted at 7:28 a.m. ET] Israel's embassy in Ireland contacted police about a suspicious device at the diplomatic mission in Dublin, Irish police said Tuesday.
An Irish Army bomb disposal team is at the scene, police said.
The embassy had been evacuated, a police spokesman said.
FULL STORY
Queen makes history with ex-IRA leader handshake
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shook hands Wednesday with former IRA commander Martin McGuinness in a historic gesture marking a giant step forward in the peace process around British rule of Northern Ireland.
The handshake comes 14 years after the end of a conflict that claimed about 3,500 lives, including that of the queen's cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten in an IRA bombing.
McGuinness spoke to the queen in Irish as they clasped hands and made eye contact for several seconds in the ground-breaking event.
"Goodbye and godspeed," McGuinness then said, translating his comment for the queen. She smiled throughout the encounter but did not speak.
Monday's live video events
Watch CNN.com Live for continuing coverage of the aftermath of Sunday's devastating storms.
Today's programming highlights...
9:31 am ET - Italian president calls Endeavour - Italy's president talks to astronauts on board space shuttle Endeavour and the international space station.
Obama hopes to see ancestor's birthplace during visit to Ireland
President Barack Obama announced on Thursday - St. Patrick's Day - that he will stop in Ireland in May as a side trip from his state visit to the United Kingdom, and that he hopes to visit the birthplace there of his great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
He made the announcement as he met with the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in the Oval Office. The birthplace is in Moneygall, he said, adding that he also plans to visit "famous sites" in the country.
28 Irish-Americans identified as Obama relatives
Obama - clad in a light green tie and sporting shamrocks emerging from his suit pocket - stressed the "incredible bond" between the two countries. Beyond the customary comments on his guest's leadership, the president thanked Ireland for its assistance with the U.S. effort in Afghanistan and on issues such as food security, and hailed progress and stability in Northern Ireland.
FULL STORY
Thursday's intriguing people
St. Patrick
To Irish Catholics, St. Patrick's Day is not just a day for green beer and ridiculous hats. It's the feast day of their nation's patron saint.
According to Catholic.org, Patrick was born to Roman parents in occupied Scotland in the year 387. He was kidnapped and taken to pagan Ireland as a slave at age 14 but escaped and returned to Great Britain at age 20. He entered the Catholic priesthood and eventually became a bishop. In 433 he was dispatched back to Ireland, where he used a shamrock to illustrate the concept of the Holy Trinity. Virtually the entire population of the island converted to Catholicism.
He died on March 17, 461 (some sources say 493).
FULL POST
Thursday's live video events
It's St. Patrick's Day, and everyone is feeling a little Irish today. CNN.com Live is there as we cover the Irish prime minister's trip to Washington. We're also your home for the latest news from Japan.
Today's programming highlights...
Ongoing coverage - Japan earthquake/tsunami aftermath
8:30 am ET - Irish PM meets with Biden - He's only been in office a few days, but Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny is already being treated like a VIP. He begins his day at Vice President Biden's Naval Observatory home for a breakfast in his honor.
Ireland PM to dissolve government, call elections
Ireland's prime minister said Friday that he would dissolve parliament Tuesday and call a general election, Irish state broadcaster RTE said.
Irish prime minister steps down as party leader
Embattled Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said Saturday that he will step down as leader of the Fianna Fail political party but stay on as prime minister until the March 11 elections.
A new leader will be elected at a special party meeting on Wednesday afternoon. At least four senior Fianna Fail members have signalled that they intend to stand for the leadership post.
FULL STORY
Court condemns Irish ban on abortion
The European Court of Human Rights condemned Ireland's laws on abortion Thursday, ruling the country violated the human rights of a woman forced to go abroad to end her pregnancy.
It did not, however, recommend a change to Irish law, which prohibits abortion in all cases.
The woman, a Lithuanian national who was not named, was in remission from a rare form of cancer and unaware she was pregnant when she had a series of check-ups not advised during pregnancy, the court said.
FULL STORYProtesters march through Dublin over Irish austerity plan
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday against the government's austerity plan.
Irish police estimated the number taking part in the largely peaceful demonstration to be about 50,000.
The protests were organized by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which has called the four-year plan for spending cuts and tax hikes "savage and regressive."
Ireland unveils austerity plan
The Irish government Wednesday unveiled its four-year plan to cut public spending and increase taxes - part of the painful measures the country must take to reduce its national debt.
The plan achieves savings through welfare cuts worth 10 billion euros ($13.4 billion) and higher taxes, expected to bring in 5 billion ($6.7 billion), according to the 138-page green booklet titled "National Recovery
Plan 2011-2014."
The minimum wage will be reduced by 1 euro ($1.34) to 7.65 ($10.25) an hour and public sector pay will be reduced by a total of 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) over the four years.
Ireland requests billions in euro loans from EU
Ireland has formally requested substantial "financial assistance" from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to buttress the government and bolster its struggling banking sector, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said Sunday night.
"I want to assure the Irish people that we have a better future before us," Cowen said in announcing the request, as well as pledging substantial budget cuts and tax hikes.
Wednesday's intriguing people
Athlete Marion Jones' book gives her version of her drug scandal and time in prison.
Marion Jones
The American track star won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sidney, Australia, but relinquished them when news emerged that she had used performance-enhancing drugs.
Jones spent six months in federal prison for lying to investigators. She now plays guard for the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA and recently released "On the Right Track," in which she gives her version of events and describes her time in prison.
Filmmaker John Singleton has made a documentary about Jones titled "Press Pause," airing on ESPN.
The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog says it had a hard time getting a straight answer out of Jones when it pressed her on whether she knew she was taking performance-enhancing drugs. FULL POST
Arrests made at Tony Blair appearance
Former British PM Tony Blair walks into a Dublin television station for an interview Friday night.
Police made a "small number" of arrests in Dublin where former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was due to sign copies of his autobiography Saturday, a spokesman for Ireland's national police service said.
Despite reports that shoes and eggs were thrown at Blair, police could not confirm whether anything was thrown at him, and video from inside the store showed him unscathed, without any stains on his jacket. FULL POST
UK, Ireland restrict flights for second day
Ash from an Icelandic volcano shutdown airports in the United Kingdom and Ireland for a second day Wednesday, causing disruptions to hundreds of passengers.
Pope accepts Ireland bishop's resignation
Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of a third Irish bishop Thursday.
Bishop Jim Moriarty offered his resignation in December amid criticism after the publication of the Murphy report on clerical sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese.
Court appearance set for mom charged in terror case
A Colorado woman indicted on terror charges is expected to plead not guilty at her arraignment Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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