In The News

‘Melania’, the documentary about US first lady Melania Trump, took in an estimated $7m when it hit US cinema screens at the weekend making it the highest debut by a non-music documentary or concert film in more than a decade.

These are the sort of figures other documentaries can only dream of, so it’s a hit?

Far from it says Irish Times journalist Hugh Linehan who points out that it cost Amazon $45 million to make plus a reported $35 million in marketing costs so financially it makes no sense.

And critically? Well “boring” is probably the nicest thing reviewers have said.

Over nearly two hours it reveals very little about the former Slovenian model other than she wears nice clothes and even nicer shoes.

For Linehan, it’s a classic Trump family grift, this time with Melania making the money. She is expected to be paid $28 million for the documentary which charts the 20 days in the lead-up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration.

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

“I don’t love you and I can’t be with someone out of pity,” Bruna Fonseca (28), a Brazilian woman living in Cork, texted her ex-boyfriend Miller Pacheco (32) on December 18th, 2022.

Two weeks later, on New Year’s Day, 2023, gardaí would discover her body in Pacheco’s apartment. She had been strangled.

At Pacheco’s trial for her murder at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, this and many other texts, voice messages and recorded conversations were read out in court.

As Irish Times Southern correspondent Barry Roche who attended the trial explains, they paint a picture of an angry man, full of self-pity, who could not accept that his former girlfriend who he had followed to Ireland from their native Brazil no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him.

He put forward a plea of self-defence but the evidence proved otherwise and he was found guilty of her murder. On January 23rd last he was sentenced to life in prison.

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

On Thursday, a judge in a Belfast court lifted an injunction that would have prevented Michael Flatley’s involvement in the Lord of the Dance show, due to begin in Dublin next week before a multi-date international tour.

The Chicago-born dancer was lead performer and choreographer of Riverdance, the 1994 Eurovision interval show that introduced a new, high octane, modern form of Irish dancing to the world.

It brought him fame and fortune and in 1996 he developed a global touring show called Lord of the Dance. Critically acclaimed it was for many years wildly successful.

With the 30-year anniversary of Lord of the Dance coming up, Flately who is based in Monaco, signed a contract with Newry firm Switzer Consulting to run the shows. And it’s the details of that contract that were in contention.

During the civil case taken by Switzer, the court heard claims about Flatley’s lifestyle that will come as a surprise to his many fans.

His former financial adviser Des Walshe claimed that his ex-client was “all about image”, and living a millionaire’s lifestyle funded by borrowing. “He was faking it on a multimillion euro scale,” Walshe submitted to the court.

So how did Flatley react to this damning characterisation? And what was his reaction when the judge lifted the injunction.

Belfast-based reporter Paul Colgan explains the complex case and why it has come to this for the world’s most famous Irish dancer.

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

Most people who heard the weather forecasts at the weekend that mentioned Storm Chandra will not have expected the devastation it was to bring on Monday and Tuesday.

The east coast was hit hardest. Homes were flooded that had never flooded before, rivers burst their banks, road and rail closures caused traffic chaos and businesses were forced to close.

Some of the areas worst hit by the floods received almost half their average rainfall for January in one 24-hour period.

But shouldn’t there have been stronger warnings of what was likely to come and what are people supposed to do when they are told flooding is likely?

Climate change is altering weather patterns with potentially devastating results, so how prepared is the Government for what is to come?

Irish Times climate and science correspondent Caroline O’Doherty explains why Storm Chandra hit so hard and why some areas were impacted more than others.
And we hear from Rathfarnham resident Ciaran Kirwan whose home was flooded.

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

When news emerged at the weekend that one of China's most decorated generals had been purged, rumours swirled around Beijing.

The official line was that Zhang Youxia, and later another top general, had been ousted from their jobs due to “serious violations of discipline and law”.
That is widely understood as code for corruption but no more details were forthcoming.

This led to speculation that the reason Chinese president Xi Jinping took the action against Zhang, a man believed to be untouchable because of his military background and his long, personal relationship with the president, was because he was no longer loyal and was plotting against him.

For Irish Times Beijing based-correspondent Denis Staunton, talk of a coup by military generals is wide of the mark. Instead it appears that Xi, who has been on an anti-corruption sweep of government at all levels since he took office, began looking at the military and the top brass came into his sights.

So is Xi simply – and ruthlessly – consolidating his power? And what does this sudden and dramatic change in military leadership structure mean for the country’s long-stated ambition of taking control of Taiwan?

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