Is your teen getting enough shuteye? Recommended guidelines are eight to 10 hours of sleep nightly, but experts say many are struggling to get this. This represented a downward shift from 2018, when half of this age cohort got the right amount of sleep. But with 50% “not sleeping OK” at that point, Planet Youth coordinator Emmet Major says: “We could see sleep was an issue.” Planet Youth’s 2024 survey concluded just before Christmas, results have not been fully analysed yet but Major reports a glimmer of hope — 45% are now getting eight hours plus sleep per night compared to 44% in 2022. But it doesn’t take from the fact that the teen sleep picture, as Major puts it, “is not good”. And yet adequate, quality sleep is vital for adolescents because it underpins a lot of the physical, cognitive and emotional growth that needs to happen in this...

Donald Trump plans to issue a flurry of executive orders and directives after he is sworn in as US president on Monday to put his stamp on his new administration on matters ranging from energy to immigration. Two sources familiar with the planning said more than 200 such orders and directives could be released starting on Day One in what is known internally as a “shock and awe” effort. Here is what we know about the executive orders so far: IMMIGRATION  Trump plans to take a flurry of executive actions aimed at cracking down on legal and illegal immigration and ramping up deportations after he enters the White House on Monday, an incoming Trump administration official said. Trump intends to declare illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border a national emergency to support the construction of a border wall and send additional troops to the border, the official said. Trump will...

An increasing number of parents are seeking help to deal with children viewing pornography, according to national helpline Parentline.  Parents are also increasingly concerned about the negative impact social media is having on children as young as nine. Calls relating to social media jumped tenfold in 2024 while more parents than ever are also calling about the easy access to pornography. Concerns about pornographic videos and photographs that children viewed on phones or other smart devices increased from 28 calls in 2023 to 80 in 2024. The other issue parents are increasingly worried about is vaping, with the issue accounting for 3% of calls in 2024 compared to just 1% the year before. The figures are due to be officially released later this month, but overall, 2024 was another record year for Parentline. It saw a 5% increase in calls to its helpline to 6,461 compared with 6,147 in 2023...

The ceasefire in Gaza has officially begun following an almost three-hour delay, after Hamas named the hostages it plans to release on Sunday. Israel had earlier said it was continuing to fight in Gaza until the names were handed over in accordance with the agreement, and at least eight people were killed in an air strike on the territory on Sunday morning, according to Palestinian officials. Hamas blamed a delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons”, but later published them on social media. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (PA)Nearly three hours after the ceasefire was originally supposed to start at 8.30am local time, officials said it had begun. Celebrations erupted across the war-ravaged territory, and some Palestinians began returning to their homes, even as the delay underscored the fragility of the agreement. The deal sets in motion a long and uncertain process aimed at ultimately ending the...

General expectations about this duel should be fulfilled – it will be tight. Source link

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 6.30GMT on Sunday, Qatar’s foreign ministry has said. Early on Saturday morning Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas, bringing the sides a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever. Under the deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. A child sits outside a tent at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Hamas has agreed to free three...

By clicking on ‘Sign Up’ you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser. Sign Up You have accepted push notifications for this content. If you would like to manage your push notification preferences, you can do so here. Source link

If our rugby columnist selected three memories from a stellar career with Munster, the Twickenham aftermath 25 years ago will always be one of them Source link

A Military Police investigation has been launched after an army van crashed through a wall at Collins Barracks in Cork earlier today. Photos of the incident have been circulating on social media. They show the Irish Defence Forces Ford Transit Minibus Crew Cab halfway through a wall that backs onto a narrow section of the Old Youghal Road. A Military Police investigation has been launched after an army van crashed through a wall at Collins Barracks in Cork earlier today. Picture: X It is at the end of a slope leading from the barracks’ fuel depot. Nobody was injured in the incident but while the van managed to withstand the impact and protect the driver, damage to panels of the €40,000-plus vehicle is extensive. The investigation will look into whether driver or vehicle failure was an issue. A Military Police investigation has been launched after an army van crashed through...

A Complete Unknown is magic from beginning to end. If the object of cinema is a Cinema Paradiso type escape that leaves you untethered from reality and floating on cloud nine then this was a masterclass. I thought I was out of Dylan World, but Chalamet has brought me back in. This may not chime with other reviews you’ve read, but so be it. There are those who don’t get Dylan and those who think he can’t sing. And then there are those who think the 1960s only started when he released Highway ’61 Revisited. If you are in the latter camp, then this is a film you must see in the cinema. It is visually and aurally stunning. It is like stepping into a smoky dive on a night when your worries are overwhelming you and seeing a man with a guitar who stops the planet spinning. Director James...