Author Archives: Bodger

Marine Le Pen and French President Emmanuel Macron

This afternoon.

French President Emmanuel Macron accused his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen of lying to voters about her campaign platform as he sought to rally support two days before the French presidential election’s first round.

Via Reuters:

Macron, whose re-election seemed a foregone conclusion just weeks ago, is now facing a stiff challenge from Le Pen. Her solid comeback in opinion polls has put her victory within the margin of error in some surveys.

“Her fundamentals have not changed: it’s a racist programme that aims to divide society and is very brutal,” Macron told Le Parisien newspaper. “There was a clear strategy (from Le Pen’s camp) to hide what is brutal in her programme.”

Le Pen told broadcaster Franceinfo that she was “shocked” at Macron’s accusation of racism which she rejected, saying her programme aimed at putting the rights of French people first, regardless of their origin.

Macron hits out at Le Pen, regrets entering election race late (Reuters)

TVF

This afternoon.

Via Irish Times:

The first woman to be appointed as president of the High Court, Ms Justice Irvine took up the role in June 2020.

Now aged 65, the judge has consistently said she intended to serve between two to three years in the role and those close to her are not surprised at her announcement on Friday to a meeting of her High Court colleagues of the departure in late July at the end of the next court term.

Speculation is already rife about who will succeed Ms Justice Irvine to the third most senior position within the judiciary.

Among the names being mentioned are High Court judges Mr Justice Denis McDonald and Mr Justice David Barniville.

Other names featuring in speculation include three Court of Appeal judges, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan, Mr Justice Maurice Collins and Ms Justice Caroline Costello, and two judges of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan and Ms Justice Marie Baker.

High Court president Ms Justice Mary Irvine to retire in July (irish Times)

RollingNews

Gμlp.

This morning/afternoon.

Athens, Greece.

Via EuraActiv:

The video of Azov Battalion’s soldier triggered the reaction of opposition parties as well as influential members of the ruling New Democracy party.

“The speech of members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion in the Greek Parliament is a provocation. The absolute responsibility lies with the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He talked about a historic day, but it is a historic shame. The solidarity with the Ukrainian people is a given. But the Nazis cannot have a say in Parliament,” Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras posted on Facebook.

Similarly, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said allowing this video to be broadcast in the Greek House was a “big mistake”.

…The socialists issued a statement asking why Greek lawmakers had not been informed about the video intervention of an Azov Battalion member and called on the president of the Greek Parliament to bear responsibility.

Zelenskyy speech at Greek parliament overshadowed by Azov video (EuraActiv)

Belfast.

April 7,1922.

Via Century Ireland:

Northern Ireland is to acquire a new police force which will be known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

The RUC will number 3,000 men at the beginning and will be recruited from the Royal Irish Constabulary and the ‘Specials’, principally the A Specials.

The Northern Ireland Parliament has been told that the denominational make-up of the new force should reflect the religious composition of the six county area: two-thirds Protestant and one-third Catholic. Pay rates will be the same as those existing in the Irish and English police forces.

The announcement of the new police force comes as Northern Ireland continues to grapple with sectarian violence. In order to deal with the ongoing unrest, a Special Powers bill, known as the flogging bill, is currently being debated in the Northern Ireland Senate, and while it is likely to pass, it is being met with some resistance.

Northern Ireland to get new police force – the RUC – amidst continued sectarian violence (Century ireland)

‘sup?

This morning.

Via Dogs Trust:

Canine Carers at Dogs Trust Ireland were shocked to find a wooden skewer protruding from the side of a dog who was brought into their Munster Rehoming Facility.

Gracie came into the charity’s care after being found straying by a Local Authority dog warden. The two-year-old Lurcher was so hungry that she had resorted to eating whatever she could find to survive, including rubbish.

After being examined by a vet upon arrival, she was found to be underweight, had pressure sores and skin issues but otherwise appeared in good health. The dog was not microchipped so there was no way to contact her previous owner and establish why she was found alone, wandering and searching for food.

Dogs Trust

Meanwhile…

‘sup?

Upstate New York.

A virtually invisible Gracie.

Thanks JohnnyNYC

Your pet in camo to Broadsheet@broadsheet.ie marked ‘My pet In Camo’.

Meanwhile…

‘sup?

This morning/afternoon.

Via RTÉ

RTÉ News has stepped up its commitment to trusted journalism and has become certified with the global Journalism Trust Initiative Mark.

The Journalism Trust Initiative was developed by Reporters Without Borders and aims to promote trustworthy journalism and news sources, helping in the battle against disinformation.

RTÉ News is one of a dozen media outlets leading the way globally as JTI certified media organisations, alongside the French national public service television broadcaster France TV, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Meanwhile….

…Jon Williams, Director of RTÉ News & Current Affairs says:

“The Journalism Trust Initiative aims to make it easier for audiences to identify trustworthy journalism by creating a common set of standards for news organisations around trust and transparency. A benchmark of quality and independence, awarded by independent auditors. In the same way that when you see the Q Mark Irish flag on a product, you know it’s been produced in Ireland, the JTI standard means you know you can trust a news organisation’s journalism.”

Um.

Pause.

*cold, merciless stare*

FIGHT!

Dara Ó Briain

On The Late Late Show…

…Linda Pototzki writes:

One of Ireland’s most popular comedians Dara Ó Briain will drop in this week to talk about his current comedy tour ‘So…Where Were We?’ and the joy of being back on stage after two years of pacing the house…

Marty Morrissey will join Ryan to discuss why this year is a major experiment for the GAA and he’ll also be thanking the clubs and counties around the country for their overwhelming support following the passing of his late mother Peggy…

And Ryan will be chatting to three Irish CODAs – Declan Buckley, Amanda Coogan and Shane O’Reilly – about the very positive impact growing up the children of deaf adults have had on their lives.

Having shot to Late Late Toy Show fame in 2012, then going on later to star in Sing Street and featuring in the Best film Oscar-winning film CODA, 22-year-old Ferdia Walsh-Peelo will chat to Ryan about his stellar career and what is next on the horizon for the Wicklow-native.

….Ferdia will also perform on the show with his new band ‘The Fynches‘ live…

The Late Late Show tomorrow on RTÉ One at 9:35pm.

Rex

This morning.

Blanchardstown, Dublin.

Kickboxer Conor McGregor entering and leaving Blanchardstown District Court, where he was facing a charge of dangerous driving in his Rolls Royce Wraith (top pic) last month.

Via Irish Mirror:

McGregor sat quietly in the dock for the short hearing this morning.

His lawyer Michael Staines (above right) told the court that his licence and insurance have been shown to the gardai.

McGregor was remanded on bail and is to appear before the same court in June.

Asked for comment as he left the courthouse, McGregor said: “Just straight back into training my man, yeah.”

UFC star Conor McGregor appears in court charged with six traffic offences (Irish Mirror)

Sam Boal/RollingNews

Update: Possibly a different jammer (see comments).