Russia is holding its most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years due to the threat of attack from Ukraine, where victory for Moscow's forces has proven elusive more than four years into the deadliest European conflict since World War II.

The US and Iran appeared no closer to finding an end to their war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire, while a US intelligence analysis concluded Iran could withstand a naval blockade for months.

Last September ministers were warned by the Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers that continuous spending overruns by departments which can't operate within their means had to come to an end.

Around 80,000 people are expected to take part in Darkness Into Light events around Ireland and across the world today.

There is little harmony in the Dáil these days as a furious opposition repeatedly call on the Government to immediately free up more money for households struggling to cope with rising prices.