California train crash was an 'accident'
A lawyer for the driver whose truck was hit by a California commuter train in a wreck that injured 50 people said today the crash was an accident.
He said and that his client left the scene only to try to find help.
Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez, 54, was found walking and "in distress" more than a mile from the accident on Tuesday.
He was later taken into custody on suspicion of felony hit-and-run for leaving the scene.
Police say they are investigating whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the case.
Turkey's Erdogan mocks 'men who wear skirts'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mocked men who wear skirts, in an apparent jibe at activists who wore female clothes at the weekend in a protest supporting women's rights.
"They call themselves 'men'. What kind of men are they? Men wear trousers, why are you wearing skirts?" he said at a televised speech at his presidential palace in Ankara.
A few dozen men had marched through central Istanbul at the weekend, in a highly-publicised protest calling for an end to violence against women following the attempted rape and subsequent murder of a female student by a bus driver.
The killing of Ozgecan Aslan, 20, became a rallying cause for activists and unleashed a wave of public anger.
Motion on water & property charges defeated
A private members motion, in the Dáil, seeking the reversal of measures, such as water and property charges, as a means of tackling poverty and deprivation, has been defeated by 74 votes to 41.
The motion was tabled by the Technical Group.
Bomb alert at Belfast's Titanic centre
Britain’s Prince Edward was caught up in a bomb alert in Belfast this morning as he was due to visit the Titanic centre.
A suspicious object was discovered outside the building close to the entrance.
British army bomb disposal experts were called and carried out a controlled explosion.
While the security operation was under way, Prince Edward arrived at the Titanic centre to tour the building and his visit went ahead as planned.
Protest outside Dublin school
Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan was held up for approximately 40 minutes early this afternoon after protesters blocked an exit at a Dublin school she was visiting.
Minister O'Sullivan was visiting Gaelcholaiste Reachrann in Donaghmede.
She went on to visit another school in the area as planned.
Costello calls for independent Aer Lingus valuation
Labour TD Joe Costello has called for an independent valuation of the Aer Lingus slots at Heathrow for 2015.
He said a lot of figures put out into the public domain "seriously undervalue" the Heathrow slots.
He said the most up-to-date, independent valuation of the Heathrow slots was done in 2013 by Deloitte and that shows that the 23 Irish slots were worth €800-950 million.
He said the most recent slots sold in the past two weeks by Scandinavian Airlines were sold for €60m a piece, which, if applied to the 23 Irish slots at Heathrow, would put the value in excess of the total offer made by International Airlines Group for Aer Lingus.
Criticism of Pope over 'Mexicanisation' comment
The Vatican has sought to end a diplomatic spat that erupted after Pope Francis warned that his native Argentina was in danger of "Mexicanisation" by drug traffickers.
The comment prompted a protest from Mexico, which accused the pontiff of stigmatising the country and being dismissive of its efforts to dismantle cartels thought to control most of the cocaine entering the United States.
A Vatican spokesman said Secretary of State Pietro Parolin had sent a letter to the Mexican ambassador to the Holy See to smooth over the row.
"The Secretary of State has clarified that when he used the expression 'avoid Mexicanisation' the pope had absolutely no intention of hurting the feelings of the Mexican people, whom he loves very much, nor of giving the impression that he does not appreciate the commitment of the Mexican government in the fight against narco-trafficking," the spokesman said.
More than 100 killed in Afghan avalanches
Avalanches caused by heavy snowfall have killed more than 100 people in Afghanistan.
Most of the victims were in Panjshir province, north of Kabul, where two days of heavy snowfall killed 90 people.
The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days.
Mystery drones spotted over Paris for second night
Unidentified drones flew over Paris for a second night in a row, in the latest mystery appearance of unmanned aircraft over major sites in France.
At least five incidents were reported by witnesses and police, a police source told AFP.
Police had already been trying to find out who was behind the appearance of an estimated five separate drones the previous night.
Reports claimed drones were seen flying over the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the US Embassy, among other locations.
