Edmund Heaphy

Deputy Foreign Editor

Edmund Heaphy is Deputy Foreign Editor of RTÉ News. He previously worked with RTÉ Investigates and Prime Time. He has reported extensively from the Middle East on the conflict in Gaza and the 7 October attacks.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

Burnham buys Starmer time, but the threat is growing

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham's leadership ambitions in Labour are clear, but his pursuit of a return to parliament has bought British Prime Minister Keir Starmer time. However, the threat to Mr Starmer's premiership is only growing.

Analysis and Comment • 8 hrs

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Health Secretary Wes Streeting

Streeting draws knife but yet to strike in leadership bid

Wes Streeting's allies spent the better part of the past 36 hours briefing that today was the day that the Health Secretary would resign and trigger a leadership contest in the Labour Party.

Analysis and Comment • 21 hrs

Rubble in Beirut - a portrait of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is visible in the debris

Lebanon sees its chance - but it is fraught with danger

With Hezbollah battered and Iran focused on its own survival, Lebanon sees a rare opportunity to chart its own course - but Hezbollah's threats carry echoes of a darker past, writes Edmund Heaphy.

Middle East • 19 Apr

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 14: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (4th-L), accompanied by U.S. State Department Counselor Michael Needham (3rd-L), U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (4th-R), Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad (2nd-R) and

Talks expose deep rift between Lebanese govt, Hezbollah

The divisions over today's talks between Israel and Lebanon were visible on the streets of Beirut before the diplomats had even taken their seats in Washington, writes Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy.

Analysis and Comment • 14 Apr

A Pakistani Ranger walks past a billboard for the US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad

US-Iran talks fail to clear even most basic hurdle

The US-Iran talks in Islamabad have ended without even an agreement to meet again - raising serious questions about what comes next, writes Edmund Heaphy.

Analysis and Comment • 12 Apr

Inside, daily life carries on as much as it can. In one room, a group of men found a small distraction - a game of cards, a few hours of forgetting.

The Beirut shelter that rarely empties amid crises

This centre first opened its doors in 2006, during another war between Israel and Lebanon. But the country has been through so many crises since then that it has rarely been empty for long.

Analysis and Comment • 13 Apr

Civilians inspect the site as a residential building lies in ruins and surrounding structures show heavy damage after an Israeli strike hits Corniche Al-Mazraa district in Beirut

Israel-Lebanon ceasefire talks risk stalling out of sight

Israel has agreed to Lebanon talks - but the fear is they will unfold away from the spotlight while the war continues, writes Edmund Heaphy in Beirut.

Analysis and Comment • 10 Apr

Damage is seen in the Ain el Mreisseh neighbourhood of Beirut, Lebanon,

Bloody day in Lebanon puts fragile ceasefire at risk

A ceasefire was declared in Washington and Tehran, but, here in Beirut, the smoke rising across the city this evening suggests it has not yet reached Lebanon.

Middle East • 09 Apr