In The News

When the UK banned ownership of XL Bully dogs – with certain exemptions – on February 1st, In The News explored whether Ireland should also consider a similar ban, particularly in the wake of the disfiguring of a nine year old boy in Co. Wexford. But authorities were slow to act, until this week which saw the funeral of 23-year-old Nicole Morey in Limerick. She died having been attacked at her hall door by one of her four pets, a massive XL Bully. This episode is an edited version of our February podcast. Listen to dog behaviour expert Nanci Creedon explaining how, where and crucially, why this relatively new type of dog was bred. She now says that it is time for a ban, until more data is gathered.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan.

As the fast fashion behemoth, Shein, prepares to float on the London Stock Exchange, there's renewed focus on the company's sustainability credentials and conditions for garment workers. Undercover footage from last year's Channel 4 documentary 'Untold: Inside the Shein machine' exposed breaches of Chinese labour laws and Shein's own code of conduct. The company insists it is "investing tens of millions of dollars in strengthening governance and compliance" across its supply chain. But despite concerns, budget-conscious Shein shoppers are enticed by the low prices and highly sophisticated algorithm. We speak to Irish consumers Isobel and Rosie, as well as British journalist Iman Amrani who fronted the Channel 4 programme.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Aideen Finnegan.

It's all over bar the shouting in the local elections while in the European elections, counting is continuing in centres around the country. Sinn Féin has been left licking its wounds after a poor showing while Independents are the big winners in local government. Members of the far-right have made a foothold in mainstream politics for the first time and there appear to be more floating voters than ever before. Irish Times political correspondent, Jennifer Bray, has described the local elections as some of the most intense she's ever covered. She breaks down the five key messages we can take from Friday's vote.For an even deeper dive into how MEPs might shape European policy over the next five years, check out last week's explainer with Europe Correspondent Jack Power.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Israeli forces rescued four hostages captured by Hamas and held since October in a raid in Gaza on Saturday that Palestinian officials said resulted in the death of more than 200 people, one of the single bloodiest Israeli assaults of the eight-month-old war.The Israeli military claimed that less than 100 people died during the operation - still a significant death toll.Meanwhile, on Sunday, Israeli minister Benny Gantz announced his resignation from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s emergency government, withdrawing the only centrist power in the embattled leader’s far-right coalition, amid the months-long war in Gaza.Today on In the News we talk to Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall about the impact of the raid and Gantz's exit on the situation in Israel and Palestine.Hosted by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by John Casey.

What happened on day two of the local and European election count? Yesterday evening on The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, host Hugh Linehan talked to Jack Horgan-Jones and Harry McGee about the latest news from count centres, and also to Taoiseach Simon Harris about his reaction to better than expected results for Fine Gael and its coalition partners. Will Harris now be tempted to call an early general election? We play that conversation for you this morning. In the News will be back tomorrow.

Today and tomorrow voters will find out who will fill council seats up and down the country and who Ireland will send to Europe to represent its interests. In most constituencies the ballot papers facing voters were longer than ever – with candidates from new parties with far-right policy platforms, as well as many independents who broadly share the same views, seeking election. Forceful anti-immigration sentiment is a common thread. But who are they, and what are their chances? Conor Gallagher has been tracing the rise of these would-be political representatives and has reported how their calls to action and anti-immigrant messaging has crossed over from the virtual world on social media where they are most active, to real life. Will their followers now also move offline and into the voting booth? Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Aideen Finnegan

Sophie Power has just done something extraordinary – she ran 563km from Malin Head to Mizen Head in record time.It took her a record-breaking three days, 12 hours and eight minutes and she beat the existing record by an astonishing three hours. And it’s not even her most gruelling run – not by long way.The 41 year-old mother to Donnacha, Cormac and Saoirse is an ultra runner and the morning after she finished running the length of Ireland she posted on social media: “My body had about 2 hrs sleep over 3 nights so is still in shock. Finally in a proper bed I still woke up last night every 30 minutes thinking it was time to go running again.”She tells In the News how on the first two days she ran in driving rain, on the last day, heading into Cork she got heatstroke. She injured her knee less than half-way through but she kept running and outside Longford she started hallucinating.An unsporty child she took up running at 26 and astonishingly her first race was the infamous Marathon des Sables, a seven-day, 250km run in the Sahara. She has run while pregnant and a photo of her breastfeeding mid-race went viral. She founded SheRaces, an organisation to encourage women of all ages and abilities to run.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

With a landslide victory for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party predicted, the UK general election looks to be all over bar the shouting.But then this week the shoutiest voice in British politics, Nigel Farage, announced he is to run for Reform UK.Mark Paul explains why that’s more bad news for the Tories – and a jolt of excitement in what has been a dull run up to the July 4th election.Also on Tuesday, Rishi Sunak was judged to have won the first televised leaders debate. The Irish Times London correspondent was in “the spin room” afterwards – upstairs in the Coronation Street visitors’ centre – with party advisers, media and politicians, and he says the Sunak side took the (slight) win as a glimmer of hope.But why, when he’s so far behind?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Have you ever shared a photo of your child wearing her Halloween costume on Instagram? Or, perhaps you’ve uploaded a video of your nephew dancing to TikTok. We live in a world where sharing images of our lives, and in turn the lives of our children, has become completely normalised. But there are serious safety risks and privacy concerns around this type of content. Deepfakes using a child's image and / or voice, identity theft and abusive material are just some of the frightening ways in which young people are at risk when their data is shared, either on an open forum or a messaging app. Leah Plunkett, author of ‘Sharenthood’ and faculty at Harvard law school, explains the pitfalls of sharing images of kids online, the ethical quandary we may unwittingly find ourselves in and how we can protect the young people in our lives.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.