Protest over treatment of Saudi blogger
The National Union of Journalists and Amnesty International held a protest this evening at the Saudi Embassy in Dublin over the treatment of blogger Raif Badawi.
He was arrested in 2012 for offences which included insulting Islam, cyber crime and disobeying his father - a crime in Saudi Arabia.
The founder of the 'Free Saudi Liberals' website was sentenced last year to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes.
He received 50 lashes two weeks ago, but further punishment has been postponed on medical grounds.
Prince Andrew denies underage sex claims
Britain’s Prince Andrew has spoken publicly to deny claims by an American woman that she was forced to have sex with him 14 years ago.
The allegation was made in court documents, filed in a Florida court, by Virginia Roberts, who claims she was forced by financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, to have sex with the prince when she was 17.
Speaking at a reception at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, Prince Andrew reiterated a previous statement made by Buckingham Palace that the claims against him were "categorically untrue" and lack foundation.
Confusion over status of Yemen's president
The Yemeni parliament refused to accept the resignation of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi after a week-long standoff with Shia rebels, a senior official told AFP.
"Parliament represented by speaker Yahia al-Rai refused to accept the president's resignation and decided to call an extraordinary session for Friday morning," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Earlier other presidential advisers confirmed that Mr Hadi, a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, had stepped down.
The announcement came shortly after Prime Minister Khalid Bahah tendered the resignation of his cabinet, saying he did not want to be held responsible for the deepening lawlessness gripping the country.
Plans for parliamentarians with Irish roots to meet at Dublin summit
Minister for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihan plans to invite parliamentarians with Irish heritage from around the world to a special summit in Dublin later this year.
Speaking in Washington DC, where the Minister of State has met with several US politicians with Irish family links, the Fine Gael TD said he would like to host these global Irish elected officials in the Dáil Chamber.
The minister also expressed confidence in US President Barack Obama's immigration reform.
After meetings in #DC Diaspora Minister @JimmyDeenihanTD feels Obama's #immigration reforms won't be undone @rtenews pic.twitter.com/V9KwDq9f19
— Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) January 22, 2015Tutankhamun's beard in glue mishap
Conservators at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo say the blue and gold braided beard on a mask of famed pharaoh Tutankhamun has been hastily glued back on with epoxy after it was detached during a cleaning.
The museum, which many archeologists and restorers say is not run to professional standards, is one of the city's main tourist sites.
Tutankhamun's mask and other contents of his tomb are its top exhibits.
Conservators gave differing accounts of when the incident occurred last year, and whether the beard was knocked off by accident or removed because it was loose.
They agree however that orders came from the top to fix it quickly and that an inappropriate adhesive was used.
Former British home secretary Leon Brittan dies
Leon Brittan, a former senior minister in the government of Margaret Thatcher as well as vice president of the European commissioner, has died, his family said.
Mr Brittan, 75, was home secretary between 1983 and 1985 and was recently in the headlines over his handling then of a child abuse dossier said to implicate public figures.
He was responsible for competition policy and trade during the 1990s at the European Commission in Brussels.
Ebay to cut 2,400 from global workforce
Online marketplace Ebay has announced plans to shed 2,400 jobs, representing 7% of its global workforce.
The jobs are to be cut during the first quarter of this year.
Ebay, and its online payment subsidiary Paypal, currently employ around 2,500 people across sites in Dublin and Dundalk.
It is not yet clear whether jobs in the Irish operations will be affected.
Egypt frees Mubarak sons
An Egyptian court has ordered the release of the sons of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
The decision is pending a retrial in a corruption case, lawyers have said.
Lawyer Farid al-Deeb said Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were free to leave court after the order as they have served the maximum pretrial detention period.
US, Cuba holding talks on diplomatic relations
The United States and Cuba have begun talks on restoring diplomatic relations.
US officials say they hope Cuba will agree to reopen embassies and appoint ambassadors in each other's capitals in coming months, while they would also like to see travel curbs on diplomats lifted.
Yesterday, a session on immigration highlighted the difficulties in repairing relations, with Cuba complaining US laws promoted illegal immigration and "brain drain".
