Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was one of the hundreds of prisoners who walked free thanks to a pardon from US president Donald Trump.

His online marketplace facilitated the sale of everything from illegal drugs to weapons, hacking equipment to stolen passports, all delivered to your door at the push of a button. He had more than a million customers worldwide.

The campaign for his release began as soon as his double life sentence was handed down in 2015. They came from his family; his mother Lyn was tireless in her lobbying and also from the Libertarian Movement whose the support Trump sought in the run up to the presidential election.

New York Times technology reporter David Yaffe Bellany explains the background.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

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***Please note some listeners may find this episode distressing***

Seven babies, delivered since January last year at Portiuncula University Hospital in Galway, suffered a brain injury as a result of oxygen deprivation (HIE). Six were immediately referred to Dublin for a treatment known as neonatal cooling. The numbers are far in excess of what might statistically be expected which raises questions about the provision of maternity services at the hospital. The HSE has announced an inquiry into the delivery of these babies as well as two stillbirths in 2023. But this is the second time in a decade that concerns about maternity provision at the Ballinasloe hospital have been raised. In 2015, an inquiry - the Walker review - found staffing issues, a lack of training and poor communication among maternity staff, which contributed to the death of three babies. Warren Reilly and his wife Lorraine lost two baby girls, Amber and Asha, at Portiuncula hospital within two years of each other, and they took part in the 2015 Walker review. He tells In the News how this week’s revelations have been devastating. Irish Times journalist Sarah Burns reports on this unfolding story.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wealth of the world’s billionaires grew at roughly $5.7 billion (€5.5 billion) per day last year, according to Oxfam’s annual report on the financial affairs of the richest people on earth.

Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, according to the World Bank.

Oxfam’s latest research reveals the number of Irish billionaires has risen from nine to 11 in the past year, and that their combined wealth has increased by more than a third to just over €50 billion.

Oxfam is using the report, issued to coincide with the annual Davos gathering of the super wealthy, to argue for new taxes on the rich. But, while better-off people generally pay more tax on their incomes, the world’s billionaires pay extremely low levels of income tax and, on some occasions, none at all.

How does a system exist where the super wealthy pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a retail worker?

And will a tax for the super-rich ever happen or are things only going to get worse with Donald Trump sitting in the White House, surrounded by billionaires?

Irish Times writer specialising in economics and finance Cliff Taylor explains why the richest people on earth are able to avoid paying tax.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brenna

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The worst storm to hit Ireland in decades, Storm Éowyn left over a million homes and businesses across the island without power. A new humanitarian group has been established as part of the National Emergency Coordination Group to help deal with the immediate hardship caused by the storm. But what measures need to be taken immediately to avoid similar large scale power outages as these extreme weather events happen with greater frequency? And why was Ireland’s infrastructure, particularly our energy network, so vulnerable to Storm Éowyn? Dr Julie Clarke, assistant professor in engineering in climate action in Trinity College Dublin, joins the podcast to discuss how Ireland needs to prepare for future storms of this magnitude. We're also joined by journalist Arlene Harris who's home in Co. Clare is without power, and who has been seeking food, warmth - and a plug socket to charge her phone - in an 'humanitarian hub' in Ennis.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Declan Conlon.

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President Trump campaigned on immigration. He promised mass deportations, zero tolerance and border security. His first acts in office included several executive orders related to immigration, focused on the US’s southern border and giving officials the power to quickly deport migrants who came in under Biden-era programme.

Deportations in his first week included rounding up migrants with criminal records.

Undocumented Irish in America typically don’t come in across the southern border. Instead they travel from Ireland under the 90-day ESTA visa waiver programme and simply stay on. Many of them acquire social security numbers and driving licences and work and live illegally in the US, sometimes for decades.

But immigration lawyer John Foley tells In the News that 'Irish illegals' are now “low-hanging fruit”, in part because the ESTA process includes waiving any legal rights to appeal if the recipient is caught having overstayed the 90 days.

For “Lorcan” (not his real name) an Irish man who has lived in the US illegally for five years, it’s about staying under the radar and building a life – with the acceptance that the price includes not being able to come home to Ireland for key family events including weddings and funerals.

He is not worried about Trump’s promises to expel illegal aliens, saying the first to go will be those who have committed crimes and who do not contribute to US society.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After 15 months of warfare, humanitarian aid is finally getting through to Gaza.

By Wednesday, 2,400 trucks had crossed the border and aid agencies are ramping up delivery of essential supplies following the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that began on Sunday.

The need is enormous as are the logistical difficulties in delivering food and medical supplies in a region where there are no longer roads and where vast tracts of demolished buildings dot the landscape.

Families, like the Badr family, father, mother and three of their 10 children, who have been living in refugee camps for safety from unrelenting Israeli air attacks, are returning to their homes to find nothing left expect piles of rubble. For some families, the return means searching through the rubble for the bodies of their loved ones.

Unicef’s Rosalia Bollen is on the ground in Gaza and she explains the challenges in delivering aid in war-torn Gaza, the very real threat of famine and the impact 15 months of war has had on children.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and John Casey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last summer a teenager walked into a children's Taylor Swift-themed dance class in a quiet Liverpool suburb, and murdered three girls under the age of ten. Axel Rudakubana also stabbed eight other young girls and two adults that tried to help them. This week the 18 year old pleaded guilty to the murderous rampage, as well as attempted murder and possession of terrorist materials and the bioweapon ricin. Following his admission, many troubling details have emerged about the teenager and the missed opportunities that might have prevented the atrocity. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised an inquiry into the failings of the UK terror-monitoring system. Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul explains how this tragic case goes beyond the crime itself, to collide with politics, immigration, race, extreme online violence and social media.

Presented by Bernice Harrison and produced by Aideen Finnegan

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On Monday, Donald Trump stood before a packed Rotunda room in the US Capitol building and announced the beginning of a new “golden age” for Americans standing on “the verge of the four greatest years” in the nation’s history.

Speaking after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Trump outlined his plans for a new era where the United States would “reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth”.

The US will expand its territory and carry its flag “into new and beautiful horizons,” he said in his inauguration speech, adding that the nation would “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars”.

The US president then issued a flurry of executive orders, ranging from a pardon for the people who stormed the Capitol on January 6th 2021 to the declaration of a national emergency on the nation’s southern border where he said “all illegal entry” would be immediately halted.

What else will these executive orders change about the way people live their lives in the US and around the world?

Irish Times Washington correspondent Keith Duggan discusses the first 24 hours of the new Trump administration.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TikTok users across the United States breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday when US president Donald Trump pledged he would issue an executive order to allow the app to continue operating. The Chinese-owned video app temporarily went dark late on Saturday but has been given additional time to find a buyer before facing total shutdown. If the ban holds, business and technology journalist Ciara O'Brien says it could precipitate the platform's decline in countries including Ireland. In 2020, President Trump tried to ban TikTok over concerns it was sharing Americans’ personal information with the Chinese government. So, why has he taken this U-turn? Meanwhile, a day before taking office, the 78 year-old has launched his own meme-coin called $Trump.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

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While walking through Dublin city, journalist Quentin Fottrell was scammed.

A pleasant sounding, nicely dressed man stopped him and started chatting. Didn’t Quentin remember him? After all, the man said, he had worked on his house some years ago. Not wanting to be rude and a little embarrassed at forgetting a face, Quentin continued the chat which slowly turned to the fact that the man had forgotten his wallet and needed some help to get home. It was only when he had walked away, €40 lighter, that Quentin realised he had been scammed.

He wrote about the experience in The Irish Times and his article elicited multiple replies from men who had also been scammed by the same man in Dublin city centre.

Donal Cronin was one such reader. Although he is a communications expert and deeply knowledgable in the psychology behind persuasion, he too fell victim to the smooth-talking scammer. He took a photograph of the man while they were chatting and Quentin was able to confirm it was the same confidence trickster.

Quentin and Donal came into studio to explain how the scam worked and how they feel now having being duped.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan

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After 15 months of bloodshed, a ceasefire will commence in Gaza on Sunday. The pause in hostilities for an initial six week period will allow food and medical aid in to desperate Palestinians. They will also be allowed to return to what is left of their homes. But with previous ceasefire agreements failing, the peace is precarious.

The release of hostages held by Hamas is among the conditions on which the long-awaited deal is based. The first of 33 hostages to be released in the first stage of the deal, among the near 100 still held captive by Hamas, will be released on Sunday. The names of those to be released have been given to Israeli authorities, but families do not know if they will be receiving their loved ones alive or dead.

Journalist Mark Weiss says despite the ceasefire being supported by 70% of Israelis, many feel it is a bad deal. So why is it happening now? What has changed for Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a deal with Hamas at this stage?

Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.