President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia's first partial "mobilisation" since World War II, warning the West that if it continued what he called its "nuclear blackmail" that Moscow would respond with all its vast arsenal.

Live updates as Russian President Vladimir Putin orders what he calls an immediate partial military mobilisation in Russia, in his first national address since his country invaded Ukraine last February.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will address the United Nations General Assembly later today.

The UK government has announced an energy price cap for homes in Northern Ireland.

More than three quarters of Irish people believe the energy crisis is harming the EU economy, while nearly 60% of people say member states should be allowed to delay meeting their EU climate change targets in order to tackle the energy crisis.

Fiona has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane as it moves away from the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US National Hurricane Center has said.

Bus Éireann had little notice that the Government was planning to waive school bus fees for the current academic year to help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.

Hundreds of workers employed in the community and voluntary sector in counties Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo and Donegal will take part in three days of strikes from today, in pursuit of better pay, terms and conditions.

Protests spread to 15 cities across Iran overnight over the death of the young woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's morality police, state media has reported.

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Britain's top priority is to protect the Good Friday Agreement, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Brendan Gleeson is to host the iconic US TV comedy show Saturday Night Live for the first time in October.

Doctors are expecting huge pressure on the health system this winter, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine at St James's Hospital Dr Cliona Ní Cheallaigh has said.

Just 30% of customers who are switching banks due to the exit of Ulster Bank and KBC from the Irish market have started transferring their direct debits, according to new figures.

The Chief Executive Officer of the University of Limerick Hospitals Group (UHLG) has apologised for the "distress and the lack of dignity and privacy" experienced by far too many patients seeking access to care in University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

As the Ukrainian army continues to reclaim more territory from occupying Russian forces, some refugees who fled to Ireland earlier in the war have now decided to return home.

The Minister for Justice has said the ramming of a garda car by another vehicle during an incident in Cherry Orchard in Dublin last night was "absolutely unacceptable" and there must be consequences for those responsible for it.

Housing charity Threshold has said it is receiving calls from tenants facing eviction on average every twenty minutes.

Government and opposition leaders as well as other senior politicians will attend day two of the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska in Co Laois.

There have been calls for a major overhaul of Ireland's 50-year-old civil legal aid scheme to better help vulnerable individuals and communities.

The State pension age will remain at 66 and people will be offered the choice to work until 70 in return for higher payments, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has confirmed.