Top business award for Moya Doherty
Co-founder of Riverdance and Chairman of RTÉ Moya Doherty has become the first woman to be awarded the All-Ireland Consultant Business Award.
Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness presented Ms Doherty with the award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to business and economic activity across Ireland.
Ms Doherty’s career spans theatre, radio and television production and presentation, both in Ireland and internationally.
Currently also director of Tyrone Productions, Ms Doherty was the commissioning producer and originator of Riverdance for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and 1995.
Flanagan says there were no secret deals with corporations
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said he does not believe the European Commission respected the fact that Irish tax laws were a matter of national competence in relation to its ruling on Apple and its tax affairs in Ireland.
Speaking in New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Flanagan said he did not believe the commission was "a judicial forum".
He said he welcomed a judicial review of the decision and said categorically that Ireland had "no secret tax deals, or tax deals with individuals or corporations".
While it was important that "everybody pays their fair share", he said the commission did not "appear to have respected the fact that tax laws were a matter of national competence, a matter for our own sovereign State, a matter for our own jurisdiction".
Ross defends Olympic ticket investigation
Minister for Sport Shane Ross has defended the choice of a non-statutory investigation into the controversy over alleged mis-selling of Rio Olympics tickets that had been allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Following a meeting with Attorney General Máire Whelan, Mr Ross last month announced the inquiry, to be chaired by a retired judge.
Speaking at an Oireachtas committee today, Mr Ross rejected criticism that the investigation would be toothless; saying a non-statutory investigation was chosen for reasons of cost and time.
He also told members that the three main parties expected to give evidence had all volunteered to give evidence and produce any papers required.
He added that the judge leading the investigation had the option to come back and seek a statutory investigation, if he deemed it unsatisfactory.
Northern Ireland to pilot abuse prevention programme
Primary school teachers in Northern Ireland are to be given specialist training on how to teach children about keeping safe from abuse.
The Keeping Safe programme, the first of its kind in Europe, will provide school staff with a package of elearning, face-to-face training and school-based support.
The scheme is being piloted in 71 primary schools across the North with the ultimate aim of introducing it to every primary school.
The teaching materials being used in the project were developed by the NSPCC.
Dozens dead or missing in floods in Indonesia
Flash floods in Indonesia have killed 20 people and damaged hundreds of homes.
The floods hit the Garut area, about 200km southeast of the capital, Jakarta, after torrential rain yesterday.
"We've reported that we found 20 bodies and we've identified 15 of them," said Endah Trisnawati, a member of a police disaster victims identification unit.
It was not clear how many people were missing but some officials in the area said it could be up to 15. Some media reported 20 people were unaccounted for.
Authorities said search and rescue operations would go on.
Schools closed in Canadian province after bomb threat
Canadian police evacuated all schools in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island after a bomb threat, but found no explosive device.
About 19,000 students at 62 schools were taken to safe locations in their communities around the island off Canada's Atlantic coast. It is the country's smallest province with a population of about 146,000.
"The minister of public safety just informed me that all of the schools' children and personnel are safe. The situation is under control," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa.
In Prince Edward Island's capital of Charlottetown, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Kevin Bailey said the threat against Prince Edward Island schools came by fax to the police in Ottawa and police analysts had also identified threats against schools in North Carolina, Connecticut and Arizona, but there was no immediate indication that they were linked.
