France will lengthen the period between the first and second shots of Covid-19 vaccines to six weeks from four weeks as of 14 April to accelerate the inoculation campaign, the country's health minister has said.

The Taoiseach has insisted that public health advice was behind the "fundamental rationale" for the addition of 16 countries to the mandatory hotel quarantine list.

The Department of Social Protection has issued a warning about scam phone calls from people claiming to be department officials.

A metal gate at Lanark way in west Belfast was last week the focus of the worst violence witnessed in Belfast for years.

With less than six months to go until a general election and their poll ratings plummeting, Angela Merkel's conservatives are meeting for crunch talks today as pressure builds to pick their chancellor candidate.

A security guard was wounded in a bomb blast outside a military-owned bank in Myanmar's second-biggest city this morning, as the civilian death toll from the junta's brutal crackdown on dissent topped more than 700 at the weekend.

NASA has delayed by at least several days the first flight of its mini-helicopter on Mars after a possible tech issue emerged while testing its rotors, the US space agency said.

A man in his 30s who was injured in a stabbing incident in Newbridge, Co Kildare, on Wednesday has died in hospital.

Rachael Blackmore made history at Aintree as she became the first female jockey to win the Grand National as Minella Times (11-1) scored for the Tipperary rider and trainer Henry de Bromhead.

The number of Covid-19 vaccines administered in Northern Ireland has passed the one million mark.

Trinity College Dublin has named Professor Linda Doyle as the first female Provost in its 429-year history.

The Department of Health has been notified of 14 additional deaths and 455 new Covid-19 cases.

The Eurovision winning songwriter and former RTÉ broadcaster Shay Healy has died at the age of 78.

Gardaí are trying to identify a body following the discovery of remains in the water in Galway Bay this afternoon.

Leaders in Northern Ireland are fearful the chaos that has plagued the region in recent days will continue over the weekend.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for the "swift resolution" of a probe into a crime journalist's shock murder, condemned by leading EU officials, political parties and unions.

The Duke of Edinburgh's final farewell will be a small family affair, with Queen Elizabeth II and her family following guidelines and wearing face masks and socially distancing as they gather to pay tribute.

Ireland's coronavirus restrictions will begin to ease this coming Monday, 12 April. Here's what to expect.

The BBC has set up a dedicated page allowing people to complain about "too much TV coverage" of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Green Party Cllr and Dublin Lord Mayor Hazel Chu will remain as party chair, while continuing to run as an independent candidate in the Seanad by-election.