The British government 'must operate on the assumption' the UK will leave the EU without a deal, according to minister Michael Gove.
Mr Gove has been tasked by Boris Johnson with 'turbo-charging' preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
Writing in The Sunday Times, he suggested that scenario is now a "very real prospect".
He said he was hopeful the EU would be willing to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement it reached with Theresa May, "but we must operate on the assumption that they will not".
The EU has repeatedly ruled out renegotiating the agreement.
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President Trump's been criticised for calling a majority black area represented by an opponent a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess".
The US president made the comments in a series of tweets, attacking Democrat Elijah Cummings.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was among those to condemn the comments, accusing the US president of "racist attacks".
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More than 800 people are expected to quit the Defence Forces this year, making it one of the worst years for resignations.
The Department of Defence confirmed that, so far, 407 people have left the organisation in the first half of the year.
289 people left from the Army, 74 from the Naval Service and 44 from the Air Corps.
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The Taoiseach says it's better to solve the housing crisis slowly than with a quick fix.
Leo Varadkar claims a return to building 80,000 homes a year would only fuel the boom-bust cycle we've seen in the past.
He has accepted the Government's housing programme hasn't worked yet - but denies it's a failure and urged patience when dealing with the market.
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Today marks day two of the annual Bray Air Display in County Wicklow.
Almost 50,000 people attended yesterday, with even bigger crowds expected today.
People are advised to use public transport to get there and extra DART services are in operation.
The two-and-a-half hour air display begins from 3pm this afternoon.
