In The News

Jon Jonsson, 41, vanished in Dublin in 2019 while in Ireland to play poker. A father of four and a taxi driver in his native Iceland, he was travelling with his fiance.For some reason he left his hotel, The Bonnington, on a bright February afternoon; CCTV cameras capture him walking along the busy road. After the second sighting near the hotel, he vanishes. He didn’t know the area and had no friends in Ireland.To date, no trace of Jonsson has been found. Then this week gardaí, acting on information contained in anonymous letters, searched a park in nearby Santry. Crime and security editor Conor Lally explains this unusual missing persons case. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly two and half years since passed since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in after the US withdrew the last of its troops from the country. Since then, the country has grappled with a humanitarian crisis which has forced millions of Afghans abroad.Women’s rights and freedoms have been severely restricted since the Taliban takeover in 2021 and girls in Afghanistan can no longer attend school beyond sixth grade.Meanwhile, Taliban authorities have reportedly increased the arbitrary detention of journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists while there have been repeated reports of extrajudicial killings and torture and brutal treatment.European countries, including Ireland, strongly advise against travel to the impoverished Asian country where the Islamic State terror group continues to launch lethal attacks against Shia minorities and the Taliban.However, a small number of tour operators are now offering trips to Afghanistan for adventurous travellers seeking a trip outside the norm. And while foreign visitors are strongly advised by their governments not to visit the country, some tour operators say bringing tourists to the country is beneficial for Afghan communities.Journalist Hannah McCarthy discusses the small number of risk-taking tourists who are ignoring the travel advice and choosing to the visit the most dangerous country in the world.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 28th two activists from Riposte Alimentaire (Food Counterattack) threw soup at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is safely behind glass and no real harm was done but the act made headlines around the world. So does shock coverage matter more than the message?And will climate activists get more radical in their protests as the crisis deepens?Dana Fisher, director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity at American University in Washington and author of Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action explains why protesters behave the way they do and what turns an interested bystander into a radical activist.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 2018, there have been 23 arson attacks with a suspected anti-immigration motivation on buildings earmarked, or just rumoured for use, as accommodation or asylum seekers. Thirteen of these attack have taken place in the past year.A flurry of arrests and search operations targeting those behind these arson attacks have taken place since early February. However, at the same time, the attacks have continued. The question on the minds of politicians, Gardaí and the public is, who is behind these attacks?Is it a centrally organised far-right group, a loose network of anti-immigrant activists or just individual local criminals incited by online misinformation and racist rhetoric?Crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher discusses who is behind the wave of arson attacks across the country and what can be done, before someone is seriously injured, or killed, in the next fire.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A door that blew off a Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off was not properly secured after maintenance to the aircraft, an investigation has found.This is just the latest in a list of very public crises for the airline behemoth that is still dealing with the fallout from 2018 and 2019 when two of its planes crashed, killing 346 people.Through a mixture of whistleblower information and dogged investigative journalism, Seattle-based Irish journalist Dominic Gates has reported on Boeing’s ongoing difficulties.In 2020 he won a Pulitzer Prize for his work on Boeing for The Seattle Times.He tells In the News what the latest findings mean for company and for passengers. Presented Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Jonathan Glazer’s multi-Oscar nominated and breathtaking new film, The Zone of Interest, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), commandant of the Auschwitz camp, and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) live an idyllic life in their beautiful house and lush garden with their children.We are, as Irish Times chief film correspondent Donald Clarke explains, “dumped into their disconcertingly ordinary world”. Over the garden wall is the death camp and while we hear sounds and see forbidding buildings and smoke-billowing chimneys we are never shown the horrors or the Jewish victims.Clarke also explains the power of Glazer’s filming methods and why this Holocaust film has become such a critically acclaimed hit. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly brought plans to Cabinet for an urgent catch-up vaccination programme for young people at risk at contracting measles. Measles cases have soared across Europe since the start of 2023, while in England, 170 cases of measles were notified in an outbreak in the West Midlands between December 2023 and mid-January 2024. The HSE is now warning that the probability of an outbreak in Ireland high and falling rates of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine uptake in Ireland are also a cause for concern. How dangerous is measles and how many people used to die from it before a vaccine was introduced? Who is most at risk if they do contract this highly contagious virus? And why is the virus spreading again, particularly among people in their 20s?Presented by Sorcha Pollak and produced by Aideen Finnegan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death of former Taoiseach John Bruton is a moment to remember the life of a decent man and a talented politician, but also an opportunity to reflect on how much Ireland has changed since the brief period he held power - and to think about how things might have been different. A second term for Bruton could have led Ireland on a radically different path, says political Editor Pat Leahy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The murder last February of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl, shocked Britain. She had been stabbed 28 times, in a public park, in broad daylight.In December, a jury at Manchester Crown Court found two teenagers, Girl X and Boy Y, guilty of the murder; they had lured Ghey to the park to satisfy an “obsession” with death.The judge said she would impose a life sentence but would adjourn to February 2nd to decide a minimum tariff. In an highly unusual move she also said she would name Girl X and Boy Y. We now know they are Scarlet Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe. On Friday they received minimum terms of 22 and 20 years respectively.Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul explains why the naming of the two underage killers is highly unusual; and having spent time in Warrington he reports on the local reaction to this shocking killing. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is now a criminal offence to have an XL Bully dog in England and Wales, although some exemptions do apply. New rules were brought in to stop serious and fatal attacks by the breed and the legislation makes four breeds of dog, originally bred for fighting, illegal including American Pitbull terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos and Fila Brazileiro.Scotland is to implement a similar ban following an influx of banned dogs from England and Wales as owners refused to have their dogs put down, choosing to rehome them across the border. Does the move by Scotland have implications for Ireland?Dog trainer and behaviourist Nanci Creedon explains just why these dogs have become the subject of legislation and explains the Irish context. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.