Five things you need to know today

Trump and Denis O’Brien; Garda strike; smartphone effects; Bus strikes; new judges

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has turned his sights on Irish businessman Denis O’Brien (pictured) as part of his latest attack on Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times
US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has turned his sights on Irish businessman Denis O’Brien (pictured) as part of his latest attack on Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times

Dublin Bus talks go through the night in bid to resolve dispute

Talks continued overnight in a bid to resolve the dispute at Dublin Bus which has seen services halted on six days recently due to strikes.

A further work stoppage is planned for this coming Saturday as part of a campaign of industrial action over pay.

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Donohoe rules out pay deal to prevent Garda strike

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As gardaí plan to take unprecedented strike action for four days, the Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has told Ministers he is unwilling to agree a special pay deal for members of the force.

Crucially, the Independent Alliance on Wednesday night signalled it would back a hard line from Government Buildings on the threatened Garda strike.

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Trump attacks Clinton over Denis O’Brien links

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has turned his sights on Irish businessman Denis O'Brien as part of his latest attack on Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump published a statement late on Wednesday drawing attention to Mr O'Brien's close ties with the Clintons and the family's charitable foundation, to which he and his mobile phone company Digicel have donated between $10 million (€9 million) and $25 million (€22 million).

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Smartphone use can hinder children’s reading skills - study

Children who have smartphones and spend long periods of time playing computer games are performing relatively poorly in reading and maths, new research shows.

The findings are contained in a study of 8,000 children in 150 primary schools across Ireland which assessed students' reading and maths performance.

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Ban on new judges could be ‘disastrous’ for court system

A ban on new judges, pending the establishment of a new judicial appointments system, could be "disastrous" for Ireland's court system, a High Court judge has said, speaking on behalf of all of the judiciary.

The comments come in the wake of a Cabinet decision on Tuesday not to appoint any new judges until a new law on judicial appointments is passed.

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And finally . . . Why Ireland should not be embarrassed by its abortion laws

"What was left unsaid – as has become routine in these discussions – is just how extreme the abortion laws are in some of the supposedly more civilised countries we are being asked to look up to," writes John Power in Opinion.

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