Inquiry into Co Kilkenny chemical spill
Officials from Kilkenny County Council are investigating a chemical spill near Stoneyford this evening.
The chemicals, believed to be a mixture of acid and other substances, were found in a dyke in the Knockanore area near the village.
There were concerns earlier that a nearby water treatment plant may have been affected, but fire officers say the spill has been contained and there is no risk to the public and the water supply is safe and was not contaminated.
Units from Thomastown and Kilkenny fire stations attended the scene and treated the area.
Group calls on parents to secure Yes vote
BeLonG To, the national organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people, has called on parents to help secure a yes vote in the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum.
A number of youth and children's organisations have joined the campaign, including the ISPCC, Barnardos and Fóroige.
The ballot is taking place on 22 May.
Food company promises 20 jobs
Twenty jobs are to be created over the next three years by ethnic food production company Deko Foods Ltd, which is opening a base in Kells, Co Meath.
The UK-based company will focus on manufacturing dry, non-perishable food items, and recruitment for some of the roles is already under way.
The company was introduced to Ireland through 'ConnectIreland', which encourages people to let it know about companies planning to invest or expand.
It then works with the companies to encourage them to locate in Ireland. A financial award is paid to the connector for each job created.
Medical technology firm expected to create hundreds of new jobs
Medical technology firm Stryker is expected to create hundreds of jobs as it invests millions of euro in a new global centre of excellence in County Cork.
Stryker Corporation plans to build the new facility at Carrigtwohill, east Cork. It's expected this will be built before the end of the year, and that it will be a centre of global excellence for the firm.
Stryker employs over 1,000 staff across three plants in Ireland. It was founded by US orthopaedic surgeon Dr Homer Stryker in 1941 and has more than 25,000 people worldwide.
Landslide buries ten in Kashmir
A landslide in the Himalayan region of Kashmir buried at least ten people while they were sleeping overnight, police said this morning.
Hundreds of people fled their homes as Kashmir's main rivers began to swell and weather forecasters predicted further downpours in the region that was struck by devastating floods seven months ago.
A hillside collapsed onto a house in a village about 40km from the capital Srinagar, where three families were sleeping, according to Mushtaq Ahmad, a neighbour. Army and police used diggers and shovels to locate any survivors.
"It was a huge landslide, the entire house is covered in earth," Ahmad said. "The chance of finding everyone alive is unlikely."
Rhino kills woman in Nepalese town
A rhinoceros that had wandered off a wildlife reserve rampaged through a town in central Nepal on Monday, leaving one woman dead and six people injured, police said.
A local police official said the animal travelled some 20 kilometres from the unfenced reserve to the town in Makwanpur district where it chased down startled pedestrians as well as vehicles.
"The rhino hit and killed one 61-year-old woman, and injured six others," said Shishu Sharma, Makwanpur police spokesperson.
Mr Sharma said the animal appeared to have calmed down and was now resting behind a hospital in Hetauda town.
Olmert guilty of accepting illegal payments
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, already facing a six-year prison term after a corruption conviction, was found guilty this morning in a separate case of accepting illegal payments from a US businessman.
The ruling in Jerusalem District Court reversed a 2012 acquittal of the veteran politician, who led Israel from 2006 to 2009.
Last May, Olmert was sentenced in other proceedings to six years in jail for accepting $160,000 in bribes linked to a real estate deal in Jerusalem, when he served as the city's mayor. He is currently appealing that conviction in the Supreme Court.
The district court found that Olmert accepted cash-filled envelopes from an American businessman who hoped to further his interests in Israel. It convicted him of fraud and breach of trust on the basis of new testimony from a former aide who had accepted a plea bargain.
