Latest news with #KieranBurke
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
102-year-old Wicklow woman is guest of honour at inaugural grandparents' day in Blessington
The school's wellbeing committee came up with the idea in order to foster closer links between the school and the local community, and decided on a grandparents and special persons day. The committee also felt it was important to recognise and celebrate the role others have in making the students the people they are today. Principal Kieran Burke said: 'It was the first time we ever held such an event and we had between 80 and 90 grandparents and special people in attendance. We didn't just want to reserve it for grandparents only as there are some students who may not have a grandparent, but there could be another individual who plays an important role in their education. Some foreign students grandparents also might not be living over here but they could have an aunt or an uncle who plays a very important role in their life.' The gathering was held in the school gym and featured poetry readings, from both students and teachers, as well as some Irish music. One grandfather provide his singing credentials by standing up and bursting into song. A special mention is reserved for Dorothy Ansell, aged 102, who is a great grandparent and was also in attendance. Mr Burke added: 'It was great to be able to spend a couple of hours chatting away to all the grandparents and special persons. There were plenty of board and card games and the day was a resounding success. It's something we will be continuing and hopefully extending on in future years. I actually brought a bar of carbolic soap in with me, which is what we all used back in the day. It basically washed the cat, dog, your person and clothes. 'I asked if anyone knew what it was and all the grandparents immediately put up their hands. A few wanted to know where I got the carbolic soap from, so I sourced some more, and was able to present it to some of the grandparents.'
DW
19-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
Iran summons British diplomat over arrest of nationals – DW – 05/19/2025
Iran summoned the British charge d'affaires to its foreign ministry in Tehran to protest the arrest of several Iranian nationals in Britain. The Iranians were arrested on charges related to terrorism and spying. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a British envoy in Tehran over the arrest of Iranian nationals in the United Kingdom on charges of espionage, state media reported on Monday. "Following the unjustified arrest of a number of Iranian nationals in the UK... the British charge d'affaires in Tehran was summoned on Sunday," Iran's IRNA news agency said. Why were the Iran nationals arrested? British police held 7 Iranians earlier this month in two separate operations. Of those, three men appeared in a London court on Saturday after being charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, that being Iran in their case. According to the British Home Office, the men were irregular migrants who arrived in the UK between 2016 and 2022. UK Police say that the alleged spying occurred from August 2024 to February 2025. Meanwhile, the other four men — who were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act — have been released from custody but they still face a probe. What did Iran say? Iran's state media quoted a foreign ministry official alleging that the arrests appeared to be led by "political motives" to "exert pressure" on the influential Middle Eastern nation. The UK government has put Iran on the highest tier of its foreign influence register, requiring the Islamic Republic to register everything it does to exert political influence in Britain. Soldier who spied for Iran 'a fantasist' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Kieran Burke and Wesley Dockery
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
North Macedonia: Dozens killed in nightclub fire
A fire in a nightclub in the North Madedonian town of Kocani early on Sunday morning has killed at least 51 people and left dozens more injured. More than a thousand people, mostly young, were attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo, when the fire broke out, the state news agency MIA reported. According to online media outlet SDK, the fire started at 3 am (0200 GMT). It cited rescue sources as saying more than 100 people were also injured in the blaze. Local media said the blaze quickly spread to the ceiling and roof of the club, identified by MIA as the "Pulse" discotheque. They have speculated that pyrotechnic devices might have started the fire. Kocani is located some 100 km (60 miles) to the east of the capital, Skopje, and has a population of around 30,000. More to follow... Edited by: Kieran Burke
