In The News

In July 2025 Abdullah Khan, a self-described jihadist, carried out two attacks in Dublin, both were captured on camera.

A follower of Isis, the radical Islamic terrorist group, Khan attacked two gardaí on patrol on Capel Street because, it is believed, they are a symbol of the State.

Taken into custody he also confessed to an arson attack some days earlier on Conor McGregor’s Black Forge pub in Crumlin.

He plead guilty to both and this week for sentencing. He was jailed for 6½ years.

What do we know about Abdullah Khan? How was the Irish-born young man radicalised? Isis militants often operate within wider networks or cells, so do gardaí believe Khan acted alone? What was the reaction to the sentence?

Courts reporter Eoin Reynolds was there for Khan’s sentencing and he outlines the case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democrats have swept key US midterm races, flipping long-held Republican seats and securing a majority in the House and Senate. The results are a wipeout for president Donald Trump’s Republican party and a rejection of his policies.

As formally red states fell to the Democrats, it’s been called a blue wave or a “bluenami” but what will it mean for how the US is governed in the next two years? How will
US foreign policy be impacted? And what might it mean for the next presidential election?

Scott Lucas, professor of international politics at UCD’s Clinton Institute, explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday, hackers launched a cyberattack on SuperValu stores, remotely changing the temperature settings in fridges and freezer units in 13 branches.

The immediate result was the mass dumping of tens of thousands of euro worth of food as the retailer sought to protect the public from potentially spoiled goods.
The broader impact – and one that will prove longer lasting – is the knowledge that no one is immune. With what seems like relatively little effort, hackers can hit us where we are most vulnerable: our food supplies.

The hack appears limited to a specific model of fridge but it is part of a growing, terrifying pattern. Reports of similar incidents at supermarkets throughout Europe emerged on Monday, with overheating fridges in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia ruining millions of euro worth of food.

A hack on some French supermarkets took place last month and in the US in August the Pentagon believe hackers shut down fridges in six US military bases.
So who are the hackers? And why target supermarket shelves? And in a world of appliance connectivity how worried should people be that the next hack could be even closer to home?

Irish Times business and technology reporter Ciara O’Brien and business reporter Ian Curran explain.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Voting is underway in the US midterm elections, the results of which will decide which party controls Congress, and whether Donald Trump can advance his agenda for the remaining two years of his presidency. Democrats are expected to flip the House of Representatives but the Senate race is much tighter. Host of the Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan explains the outcome is likely to hinge on eight seats: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas. Some of these haven’t elected a statewide Democratic senator in decades. In the case of Kansas, it hasn’t returned one since 1932. But with voting booths closing at around 11pm Irish time, the results probably won’t be known until Wednesday morning. Linehan outlines what the polls have been saying, what the biggest dramas of the campaigns have been and when we might expect the first tallies. You can listen to the conversation on the player above or search for In the News wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before her running career was cruelly cut short, Ciara Mageean managed to break the Irish record for the 800 metres, 1000 metres, 1500 metres, and the mile; all records that had previously been held by Sonia O’Sullivan.

But in a life absurdly extinguished by bowel cancer at the age of 34, Mageean is remembered as having “grace, wit and a fundamental beauty of the soul” by Irish Times sports writer Malachy Clerkin.

“You can kind of assume that people know, just take it for granted that she was this amazing athlete. And because the force of her personality and the sort of the special human that she was, [that] kind of takes precedence.”

Clerkin tells the In the News podcast that Mageean was an outlier in every sense. Not just because of her athletic prowess, but in her mindset, her compassion for other people, and sadly in the fact she had almost none of the known risk factors for bowel cancer.

“She has no family history. She was an incredibly fit and healthy human being. Her diet was - like she had a nutritionist for over a decade.”

Mageean died on Sunday morning surrounded by family and friends. She is survived by her husband Thomas Moran, who she married in October and who’s wedding they celebrated just a week before her death.

You can listen to the conversation on the player above or search for In the News wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by John Casey.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.