MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s second-biggest food retailer Magnit has dropped plans to bid for smaller rival Lenta, paving the way for Russian steel magnate Alexey Mordashov to seal a takeover valuing Lenta at about $1.75 billion. Magnit this month made a non-binding, indicative proposal worth $1.78 billion to buy Lenta, Russia’s third-largest grocery retailer, seeking […]

There was as much pride and pomp as decency would allow in 1922, when Commissioner Michael Staines led his new Force though the gates of Dublin Castle, the seat of British power in Ireland. Only five days after this historic transfer, the man responsible for the creation of that unarmed Civic Guard, Michael Collins, was […]

Once again, the Federal Reserve has regrettably become a favorite whipping boy. President Trump has been lobbying it to lower interest rates, even though the unemployment rate is 3.8 percent. Progressives are still complaining that the central bank didn’t do enough to stimulate the economy in the wake of the 2008 recession. More worrisome, Mr. […]

What does the European Union need in order to face the barrage of weighty problems before it today? Some propose “more Europe” — meaning more and deeper integration. But many Europeans have become reluctant to take that path, and Britain is about to forge a path of its own. The challenges to the Continent are […]

Good morning, We start today with ongoing efforts in Sri Lanka to round up bombing suspects, the swift boom and bust of China’s bike-sharing start-ups and a South Korean school teaching grandmothers to read and write. A week after Easter bombings, Sri Lanka struggles to move forward Security forces continued to round up suspects involved […]

Has she really died Cries the Oak Tree City? Has she really died, Has a bullet stopped our dreams? The fools, the fools believe That death’s the seed of freedom, The ancient blood-soaked lie From our old murder machine. When will it endWeeps the Oak Tree City?When will it endThis poison in the stream?With their […]

Reports suggest that there has been considerable tension between senior officials and the Cabinet about the cost of the National Broadband Plan: €500m was originally budgeted for a plan that is now expected to cost more than €3bn. In return, that plan will neither connect every home, nor will it yield an asset to the […]

To the Editor: Re “C.I.A. Chief Uses Spy Skills to Connect With Trump. Results Are Mixed” (news article, April 17): The editorial conceit that Gina Haspel, the director of central intelligence, relies on 007-relational jujitsu to “make sure her voice is heard at the White House” minimizes her efforts to create an effective relationship with […]

Let us call it ‘recreational nationalism’. Like the recreational use of Class A drugs, it is a major phenomenon but rarely gets the kind of attention we give to the hardcore element, the addicts who have nothing else in their lives – the ones we call terrorists, to distinguish them from the ones who used […]

The mortuary at University Hospital Waterford made headlines last week as consultants complained facilities were so bad that people’s remains were left to decompose on trolleys in corridors, leaking body fluids on to the floor and causing distress to patients and staff. This situation is clearly wrong on so many levels. Leaving someone in such […]