Neil McCormick: ‘If you want to see a great live band, skip Coldplay and skip the stadium shows’
Are Coldplay really the best live band in the world right now? Or are they just the flashiest blockbuster on a bloated stadium circuit?
Independent.ie 
Siptu calls for introduction of state-run childcare services amid staff ‘exodus’ and waiting list crisis
The Government has been urged to open the first state-run childcare service by next year to tackle a “waiting list crisis”.
More than 1,000 women sign up for vital Birmingham study to detect rare genetic diseases
Birmingham Women's Hospital is taking part in a national study to detect genetic diseases
Birmingham Live 
The city street named among '100 rudest places' in UK that raises eyebrows
Hardon Road is considered among the 100 rudest place names in the UK, with one home on the street previously featuring a dancing pole
‘The nurses became your family’ – the lasting impact of the pandemic for cancer patients and treatment rates
A record number of new patients are receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer across the country.
Thai prime minister removed from office over ‘ethics violation’ from leaked phone call
Thailand’s Constitutional Court dismissed prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra yesterday for an ethics violation, in another crushing blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty that triggered a flurry of deal-making aimed at filling the void.
Kyran Durnin: The patsy, the callous prime suspect, and the continuing search for a boy failed by the system
A man who took his own life after being questioned about the murder of missing child Kyran Durnin is now suspected of having been used as an unwitting “patsy” by the chief suspect to conceal the little boy’s death.
Fionnán Sheahan: From Bob Geldof to Jim Gavin and how Micheál Martin lost control of his Fianna Fáil presidential pick
Jim Gavin’s entry into the presidential election race has taken everyone by surprise – not least the Fine Gael hierarchy.
Darragh McManus: Pat Kenny made a success of a risky Newstalk defection – can Claire Byrne follow suit?
May we be allowed to mix aphorisms on this momentous occasion? On the one hand, the Irish radio landscape has “changed, changed utterly” with the bombshell announcement that Claire Byrne is leaving RTÉ after 15 years for a new life as Pat Kenny’s successor on Newstalk, while he moves to weekends. We had just got used to Joe Duffy not presenting Liveline any more, then this happens.
Cecelia Ahern: ‘I’m eager to get younger readers. I don’t want to become irrelevant’
“I simply couldn’t do what you’re doing,” Cecelia Ahern tells me; by which she means write journalism or non-fiction. Lord knows she has tried, going so far as to get a journalism degree from Griffith College Dublin before she launched her novelist career.
‘We’re married, we have three kids together, we live together… it felt like a lot from time to time’: Spencer Matthews and Vogue Williams
Spencer Matthews is telling me about his first date with his now-wife Vogue Williams – an eventful night by anyone’s reckoning.
‘The nurses became your family’ – the lasting impact of the pandemic for cancer patients and treatment rates
A record number of new patients are receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer across the country.
New law to 'stop drivers parking outside their homes'
The Government could introduce new laws later this year
Hungry Holidays 2025: Early delivery despite soaring demand
A major food support initiative in West Berkshire has finished seven days ahead of schedule, delivering supplies to children.
Newbury Today 
Asking for a friend: My ex took our break-up badly and now he’s started working for the same company. How will we manage to work together with this history?
Q: Almost a year ago, I broke up with an ex on fairly bad terms. I thought it was more of a situationship, but he thought it was a full-on relationship. I wasn’t ready for anything like that so I thought we were on the same page with both of us being casual. He took it fairly badly and told some of our friends that he was heartbroken. I started to see someone else, but now the problem is that this ex has now started a job in the same company as me. We don’t work together directly, but our paths will cross at meetings and work events. One of my colleagues said that she liked him, but she isn’t aware of our history. I hadn’t seen him since we broke up and didn’t know he was going to be working here. I am worried about how we will manage to work together with this history. We haven’t spoken yet, just nodded at each other and I was a little shocked to know that I will have to work with him now. Will this be awkward or will I bite the bullet and talk to him now?