Dublin firefighters call off strike action
Two threatened 24-hour work stoppages by Dublin firefighters have been called off after an agreement for further negotiations.
The announcement was made following talks between Dublin City Council management and the SIPTU and Impact trade unions.
Dublin North East taskforce chairman Kieran Mulvey has been invited to facilitate the talks process in a dispute over the operation of the fire brigade's emergency call centre in Tara St.
Dublin City Council wants to centralise all 999 calls at the National Ambulance Centre in Tallaght.
IFA board approves mediation with former general secretary
The Executive Council of the Irish Farmers Association has unanimously agreed to authorise the Association's Board to engage in mediation with its former general secretary Pat Smith in relation to on-going legal disputes between both parties.
Mr Smith left his post at the height of the crisis over high pay at the farm organisation 16 months ago after it was revealed that his remuneration was in excess of €500,000 for 2013.
He is suing the IFA in pursuit of a €2m severance package he agreed with the then-IFA president Eddie Downey, and also for defamation.
At the height of the crisis the organisation said it would use all legal avenues to challenge any severance package for Mr Smith.
Report: One in 20 residents in care have infections
A HSE report has found that about 4.4%, or one in 20 residents in long term care facilities, had a healthcare-associated infection.
The survey found that residents who had an infection were more likely to have some of the common 'risk factors' including: having had a recent operation, having a drip or a bladder catheter and being older.
It also found that around one in 10 take antibiotics.
The HSE says one of the issues the report raises is the need to minimise the prescribing of antibiotics to prevent infection, to help reduce antibiotic resistance.
In May 2016, over 10,000 residents in 224 long term care facilities here took part in this European prevalence survey, known as the HALT survey.
UHG in new appeal urging people not to attend ED
University Hospital Galway has again appealed to people not to attend the Emergency Department, unless absolutely necessary.
It is the second time this week that such an appeal has been made by hospital management.
It said 32 people are awaiting admission and that efforts are being made to discharge as many patients as possible. UHG has implemented its full capacity protocol to try and deal with the problems.
People are being advised to attend their GP or Primary Care Centre in the first instance.
The hospital says those who present at the Emergency Department will face significant delays before they are treated.
Pakistan gunfights kills 15 militants, two soldiers
At least 15 militants and two soldiers have been killed in two separate gun battles in a relatively peaceful district of Pakistan just northwest of the capital Islamabad, officials said.
The shootouts come after a recent resurgence in militant violence, with 130 people killed nationwide in the month of February, ending a lull in Pakistan's long battle against homegrown Islamist fighters.
The two raids took place just 100km northwest of the capital Islamabad and far from the border tribal areas that have been the main battlefront over the course of the insurgency.
19 teenagers die in Guatemala fire
A fire at an overcrowded shelter for abused children in Guatemala killed at least 19 teenage girls, the government said in a statement.
The blaze started in the female wing of the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home for minors, located just east of the capital Guatemala City.
The public ministry, in charge of police services, said 19 bodies had been found, all of girls aged between 14 and 17.
Its toll updated an earlier count by a police official of "more than 17 bodies of girls" discovered. A spokesman for the fire service had given a toll of 19 bodies counted without specifying age or gender.
