VE Day: Irish censorship and the news
Ronan McGreevy takes a closer look at the history of how VE Day was reported in Ireland.
Patsy McGarry reports from Rome as the Catholic Church's most senior leaders meet in conclave today, to elect a successor to Pope Francis.
India attacked Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday with several deaths reported. Pakistan is calling the assault a 'blatant act of war'.
Dublin City Council have opened a Mobility School in Eamonn Ceannt Park, Crumlin, a fun and safe environment to learn and practise cycling. Video: Bryan O'Brien
Just outside of Kinsale, Co Cork, a community group have banded together in an effort to buy a local pub, the Harbour Bar. Video: Enda O'Dowd
Pat Doherty of the Doagh Famine Village shows us the damage inflicted by a fire over the weekend on the family owned museum in County Donegal. Video: Joe Dunne
US President Donald Trump has ordered a new 100% tariff on all movies made outside of the US, claiming Hollywood is dying a 'very fast death'.
Political Editor of The Irish Times, Pat Leahy, reviews the beginning of Micheál Martin's second term as Taoiseach. Video: Dan Dennison
Still producing work in his Dublin studio, the artist Michael Kane celebrates his 90th birthday this year. Video: Bryan O'Brien
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
ieExplains: What is Trump's new travel ban, and which countries are affected?
Nearly five months into his second term, Donald Trump has announced a new sweeping travel ban that could reshape the US's borders more dramatically than any policy in modern memory. The restrictions, revealed through a presidential proclamation on Wednesday, would target citizens from more than a dozen countries — creating a three-tiered system of escalating barriers to entry. The proclamation represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US's approach to global mobility in modern history and potentially affects millions of people coming to the United States for relocation, travel, work or school. What is a travel ban? A travel ban restricts or prohibits citizens of specific countries from entering the United States. These restrictions can range from complete visa suspensions to specific limitations on certain visa categories. Trump's day one executive order required the state department to identify countries 'for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries'. His travel ban proclamation referenced the previous executive order, as well as the recent attack by an Egyptian national in Boulder, Colorado, upon a group of people demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. What is a presidential proclamation? A presidential proclamation is a decree that is often ceremonial or can have legal implications when it comes to national emergencies. Unlike an executive order, which is a directive to heads of agencies in the administration, the proclamation primarily signals a broad change in policy. Which countries are listed in the travel ban? The following countries were identified for total bans of any nationals seeking to travel to the US for immigrant or non-immigrant reasons: Afghanistan Myanmar Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan Yemen Trump is also partly restricting the travel of people from: Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela Why were these countries chosen? The proclamation broadly cites national security issues for including the countries, but specifies a few different issues that reach the level of concern for the travel ban. For some countries, such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Venezuela, the proclamation claims that there is no reliable central authority for issuing passports or screening and vetting nationals traveling out of the country. President Donald Trump speaks during a summer soiree on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) For other countries, such as Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan, the proclamation cites a high rate of immigrants overstaying their business, tourist and student visas in the US. Finally, there are several countries that are included because of terrorist activity or state-sponsored terrorism, including Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and Cuba. In the draft travel ban plans that were leaked in March, the original list contained 43 nations across three tiers of restrictions. Now the ban has been filtered down to 19 countries. Among the puzzling inclusions is Venezuela, which the White House says lacks competent document-issuing authorities. Trump has recently pursued a thaw in relations with the country that has proven useful to his deportation initiatives– though the country's inclusion is likely tied to Venezuelans already in the US who have been a clear target for the White House. How does this travel ban differ from the one in 2017? The 2017 ban initially targeted seven predominantly Muslim countries before expanding to include North Korea and Venezuela. This new proclamation is broader and also makes the notable addition of Haiti. During his 2024 campaign for the presidency, Trump amplified false claims made by his running mate, JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were 'eating the pets of the people that live there'. The proclamation falsely claims that 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden administration' and this 'influx harms American communities'. In fact, about 200,000 Haitians were granted temporary protected status, which gives legal residency permits to foreign nationals who are unable to return home safely due to conditions in their home countries. Also notable are the restrictions on Afghans, given that many of the Afghans approved to live in the US as refugees were forced to flee their home country as a result of working to support US troops there, before the full withdrawal of US forces in 2021. The agreement with the Taliban to withdraw US troops was negotiated by Trump during his first term. Last month, the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, announced 'the termination of temporary protected status for Afghanistan', effective 20 May. The restrictions will be reviewed every 180 days for potential modification. How will visa holders be affected? The FIFA club World Cup trophy sits between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino during a FIFA task force meeting on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Current visa holders remain largely protected: the restrictions only apply to people outside the US without valid visas as of 9 June. No existing visas will be revoked, the White House said. But new visa applications from people from these countries will be suspended or severely limited, with some exceptions for diplomatic visas, immediate family members and cases involving US national interest – one such example being the World Cup and 2026 Olympics. For employers, the ban threatens significant workforce disruptions across the tech, healthcare and education sectors, with companies unable to hire from the 12 countries targeted by a full ban. For the seven countries on a partial ban, employers can still hire on some work visas but cannot sponsor green cards, and visas will have reduced durations. The impact could be particularly severe for international Stem talent, medical professionals and academic recruitment. The education and health industries alone employ about 5.5 million foreign-born workers. Read More Donald Trump signs order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the US
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
China and US agree to more tariff talks amid trade stand-off
latest | Will Weissert ©Associated Press China and the US have agreed to more tariff talks amid a trade stand-off and concerns over rare earths, President Donald Trump said after a call with China's leader. Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have impacted global trade.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Corporate tax receipts drop 30% as Trump's tariffs bite
Corporate tax receipts fell by 30 per cent in May, amounting to a loss of over €1.1 billion when compared to the same month last year, amid signs US tariffs may be denting the profitability of multinationals in Ireland. The latest exchequer returns for May, published by the Department of Finance, indicated that the Government collected just under €2.5 billion in corporate taxes last month, compared to almost €3.6 billion in May last year. The department insisted, however, that 'once-off factors' had boosted receipts in May last year which distorted the year-on-year comparison. Nonetheless with most EU exports currently facing a 10 per cent levy in the US, possibly rising to 50 per cent if negotiations between Brussels and Washington fail, exporting companies here may be predicting lower earnings READ MORE [ Subscriber Only Opinion Ireland cannot base its economic strategy on the 'Taco' theory – Trump Always Chickens Out Opens in new window ] On a cumulative basis, receipts from the business tax were up by €1.1 billion at €7.4 billion but this reflects once-off revenues from the EU court ruling against Apple. When they are removed, corporate tax receipts to the end of May were down 9.4 per cent at €5.7 billion. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said: ' May is one of the more important months for tax revenues, and the steady growth in most tax headings points to an economy that is in a relatively good position." 'The most notable feature of the May exchequer returns was in respect of corporation tax, which saw a marked year-on-year drop,' he said. 'While this reflects once-off factors last year, it nonetheless highlights the degree of concentration in the corporate tax base, wherein a small number of multinational firms can significantly impact on the overall tax yield,' Mr Donohoe said. 'In a context of unprecedented uncertainty in the international economic landscape, this serves as a timely reminder of Ireland's exposure to changes in the global trading environment, and of the vital importance of adhering to a sensible and sustainable budgetary strategy,' he said. Overall the latest exchequer data show the Government collected €38.2 billion in tax revenue during the first five months of the year. This was up nearly €3 billion or 8.5 per cent on the same period last year aided by positive increases in income tax and VAT. Income tax receipts, the Government's largest tax channel, generated €14.5 billion, €630 million more than last year, reflecting the State's strong labour market. Separate figures, published on Thursday, put the headline rate of unemployment near a historic low of 4 per cent. VAT receipts for the year so far were also up by €600 million at €11.4 billion. The sales tax reflects consumer activity. On the spending side, total gross voted expenditure for the five-month period amounted to just under €42 billion, up by €3.1 billion (8.1 per cent) on last year and €37 million (0.1 per cent) behind profile. At a headline level, an exchequer surplus of €4 billion was recorded compared to a surplus of €0.8 billion last year, an improvement of €3.2 billion. Excluding the once-off receipts arising from the Apple tax case, the underlying surplus was €0.7 billion.
