In The News

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For the six men and one woman trafficked to Donegal by Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan, life was unimaginably harsh.

They worked long, gruelling hours, lived together in dire conditions, rummaging in public bins for food and walking up to 30km to get to work. When they stepped out of line they were subject to abuse including physical violence.]

In the nearly three years they spent in modern slavery in Ireland, the seven victims, all Latvians, earned about €750,000 but as their bank accounts were controlled, they saw a tiny fraction of that.

This month in a first conviction of its kind in the State, Poniza and Pogosyan, who were long-time residents in Ireland, were jailed for a total of 24 years for human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.

So how did the operation work? Why in a small community in Donegal did no one notice anything? And how were the traffickers caught?

Chris McNulty, a journalist with Donegal Daily, has been following the case and was in court for the sentencing.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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American businessman Jason Cardiff has lived in Ireland with his wife and daughter since 2022.

For anyone who has followed him on Facebook, he has been living a life of considerable luxury. The house is on Highfield Road, one of Dublin 6’s most expensive roads, and parked outside is a Bentley.

His followers have seen posts showing him golfing in Ireland, travelling to Austria for ski trips as well as attending the local church fete in June.

But last week his past came back to haunt him when at 8am he was arrested at home and brought to the High Court.

The move by the Garda was on foot of extradition proceedings instigated by the US Department of Justice, which has charged him with fraud involving a homeopathic medicine company, identity theft and witness tampering. He denies all charges.

So what are the charges? Why did Cardiff and his family leave the US? How did he get an Irish passport? And why does did he expect the Trump administration to come to his rescue?

Mark Tighe, Irish Times senior investigative reporter, talked to Cardiff in the days before his arrest.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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On the morning of June 14th last year, Reykjavik police were called to the luxury 5-star Edition Hotel where the bodies of Emeric Mancel and his adult daughter Catherine were found, along with a wounded Ming Ting Mancel.

They had travelled from their home in Dublin for what looked like a weeklong holiday for the reclusive family, but now appears to have been a carefully planned suicide pact.

She is now on trial at the Reykjavik District Court, accused of killing her daughter Catherine, in collaboration with her husband Emeric.

Little was known about the family’s life in Dublin before the trial, but details presented to the court give a clearer picture of how this unusual family lived before taking that fateful trip.

Reykjavik-based Irish journalist Karen McHugh explored the details of the case in a previous episode of In the News and she has been in court this week covering the trial.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

If you require support for any of the issues discussed in this episode, you can contact the Samaritans on freephone 116 123 or text HELLO to 50808. And Pieta on 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. Or visit yourmentalhealth.ie 

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The beauty industry has found a new audience: children. And it is using other children online – so-called “child skinfluencers” – to promote all kinds of skincare products.

Research by The Guardian’s consumer affairs reporter Sarah Marsh found teenage girls on TikTok, as well as Instagram and YouTube, showing their skincare routines, some having become “ambassadors” for major brands.

Some will be using products from a new and lucrative market segment – skincare produced for children – others might be demonstrating to other 10 or 12 year-olds the anti-ageing powers of retinols and strong serums.

As the phenomenon grows, dermatologists are expressing concern about harsh chemicals damaging delicate young skin, but parents and guardians are also worried that children are being convinced that their skin needs something it almost certainly does not, with all the implications for self-esteem and body image that carries.

And there are concerns at official level with the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) investigating two beauty brands over the use of young influencers to market skincare to children.

So where is this all going? And how damaging is this form of marketing, to the young girls who are served it daily on one their social feeds, and the children involved in its marketing?

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair, with research by Ellen Clusker. 

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Newly-elected Labour MP Andy Burnham has made no secret of his ambitions to become the next UK prime minister. 

Now, it looks as though his time has come.

Keir Starmer’s announcement on Monday morning that he is to step down as prime minister paves the way for a leadership contest in the Labour Party, with the leadership of the country the automatic prize.

Starmer has said he would stay on until September but unless a strong candidate emerges to go up against Burnham, the new occupant of Number 10 Downing Street could be named as early as mid-July.

Where did it go so wrong for Starmer and so right for Burnham? His nickname is the King of the North, but he’s also been called Captain Flipflop, so what does Burnham stand for?

And why is Britain’s political system so unstable that the country is now facing into its seventh prime minister in just 10 years.

Irish Times London editor Mark Paul was at Downing Street on Monday as Starmer stood at the much-used podium, bowed to the inevitable and made his sometimes emotional announcement.

He explains what led to this moment and what will happen next.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

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The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of all 18 child sex abuse charges against him, including rape. His wife Eleanor was also found by the jury to have aided and abetted him, but she was not convicted due to inability to stand trial.

The outcome of the trial hinged on whether the jury believed Donaldson or his two victims. Freya McClements explains how the jurors may have been convinced of Donaldson's guilt, what happened when the verdict was delivered and how religion, faith and forgiveness were major themes of the case.

Plus, Mark Hennessy looks back on Donaldson's rise and fall and how his conviction could affect the DUP and unionism more broadly.

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A new landmark study followed 4,000 primary school children, tracking everything from their education attainment to their wellbeing as they progressed through the school system.

The Children’s School Lives study tracked the children from 2019 to 2023. As it coincided with the Covid lockdown years, it revealed a wealth of data, some of it seriously troubling and challenging for policymakers.

The longitudinal study was commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and conducted by the UCD School of Education.

Irish Times education correspondent Niamh Towey delved into the details.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. 

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Late on a quiet Sunday night in May, gardaí in Limerick arrived on the scene of what they expected would be a routine call-out to a road traffic incident.

Instead they were met with an extraordinary scene.

In one of the damaged cars they found a dead man on the back seat. He was wearing a balaclava and there was a loaded pistol at his feet. The driver of the anonymous looking Seat Leon had escaped, leaving his phone behind.

The Garda quickly established that the dead man was a Swedish hitman and the pair were in Limerick for a contract killing. They were just minutes from their victim.

But who was the target? Has there been a resurgence in the deadly feuding that blighted Limerick for years? Where is the hitman who fled the scene and why has the manhunt for him been so muted?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally reports on the latest in this most unusual case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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In November 2023, a group of primary schoolchildren were lined up by the railings outside their school in Dublin city centre, ready to be brought to after-school care. As their minder bent down to close the coat of one of the children, a man launched a vicious knife attack on the children.

The alleged assailant was arrested at the scene and the trial of Riad Bouchaker (52), an Algerian native, is now under way.

He is charged with attempted murder of two girls and a boy, as well as a further charge of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker and three charges of assault causing harm. He denies all charges.

Eoin Reynolds reports from the court, where the jury has heard harrowing testimony from the parents of some of the victims, witnesses and those who attempted to stop the knife attack.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.

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