The increase of bi-national marriages and relationships as a result of globalization has exacerbated the tragedy of child abduction across international borders.

News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Ireland's Padraig Harrington says Olympic golf will be bigger than the Open or the U.S. Masters! Harrington was talking after golf finally won admission to the Olympics. The first golf Olympics will take place in Brazil in 2016.

The annual DV green card lottery (DV-2011) begins on October 2, and concludes on November 30, 2009. As in previous years, applications can only be lodged electronically via Form DS-5501, available only through the State Department’s DV website at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

The heartbroken family of Dr Jane Deasy have been told that the young doctor's body has been recovered from the wreckage of the Air France plane which crashed in the Atlantic last month.

The thousands of concert-goers expected at Dublin’s Croke Park for U2’s concerts on July 24, 25 and 27 has caused the stadium to heighten security and go forth with plans to shut down its GAA museum for the three dates.

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese and Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen led a string of tributes to the memory of the three young doctors, all friends and one a former Riverdance star, who are missing feared dead in the Air France trans-Atlantic disaster. McAleese said, “My thoughts and prayers, and the thoughts of everyone, are with the Irish families and the families of everyone on board at this very difficult time.”

Three Irish people were on board the Air France plane which disappeared over the Atlantic overnight. The plane is feared to have crashed in the Atlantic with 228 people aboard after losing power in a massive thunderstorm high above the ocean. The flight left Rio de Janiero at 5pm EST yesterday and was due to arrive into Paris at 4.15am EST.

For some New Yorkers, being Irish and Jewish often means balancing two different faiths and two different cultures.

Manchester City gave their all against Hamburg on Thursday night, but it was not enough as they crashed out of the Uefa Cup 4-3 on aggregate.

President Barack Obama has thrown his considerable weight behind the USA’s bid to bring the FIFA World Cup back to the States in either 2018 or 2022.

New Irish study shows that poverty is not linked to soccer prowess

Irish-American Queens native Amy Ryan has at least three movies coming out in 2009, with another prestigious project about to begin shooting. Look for

Visa Lottery Instructions LEGAL residents of the U.S. - and we emphasize legal - and all others living abroad should take note that the entry period for the annual DV-1 diversity visa lottery, also known as the Schumer visa program, especially in Irish circles, began on Wednesday, October 3, concluding at noon on Sunday, December 2.

THE annual DV green card lottery (DV-2010) begins this week on October 2, and concludes on December 1 at noon. As in previous years, applications can only be lodged electronically through the State Department's DV website at www.dvlottery.

Irish writer Anne Enright goes globetrotting in the 19th Century-set "The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch." Though a slim novel, Enright packs lots of passion and politics into this novel based on an Irish woman who has been described as Paraguay's Eva Peron. Eliza is beautiful and adventurous, and meets an ambitious South American lover in Paris.

THE New York International Independent Film and Video Festival was founded in 1993 to give unknown directors, actors and producers a chance to have their work seen without all the red tape hoopla that other festivals such as Cannes, Tribeca and Sundance have become known for. Not surprisingly, the idea has caught on.

A strong annual venue for films and documentaries about important social issues, the festival operates independently so it usually delivers controversial and edgy work that larger film events balk at.

IRISH teen acting sensation Saoirse Ronan sure is getting around. Fresh from her trip to the Oscars last month, where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her star-making role in Atonement, Saoirse immediately headed back to New Zealand, where she's filming the screen version of popular Alice Sebold hit novel The Lovely Bones.

That project, also starring Mark Wahlberg and Susan Sarandon, won't be released until next year, but there's plenty more on tap for the 14-year-old Carlow native in the meantime.

When Sony BMG Records scoured Europe for clergymen with the talent to record a new album, word of mouth eventually led them to three priests in two tiny Northern Ireland villages. A $2 million recording contract followed and The Priests were born. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to Father Eugene O'Hagan, one of the group's members.

Thomas Cahill has just published the fourth volume of his acclaimed "Hinges of History" series. The first, of course, was the best-selling "How the Irish Saved Civilization." Then came "The Gifts of the Jews," and "Desire of the Everlasting Hills.

News : Trapattoni Takes Irish Soccer Job

The Football Association of Ireland's (FAI) protracted search for a coach to take over the international soccer team finally ended with the appointment of former Italian national team boss Giovanni Trapattoni. The FAI had become the butt of many jokes in their meandering search for a successor to Steve Staunton, who they fired four months ago, but after 113 days Trapattoni was unveiled.

The Italian's credentials are well established.

SIX prominent Irish artists short-listed to compete in the 2007 Irish American Arts Awards in New York have withdrawn their names from the competition. On Monday Noel Kelly, the director of Visual Artists Ireland in Dublin, stated that all six short-listed artists are no longer participating and are now seeking the return of their submissions.The six artists are Cecily Brennan, Noel Brennan, Mark Garry, Conor McFeely, Corban Walker and Lee Welch.

Donald R. Keough, 82, is former president of the Coca-Cola Company and now chairman of Allen and Company the New York investment bank. He is the best selling author of "The Ten Commandments of Business Failure.

IRELAND finally hit the medal trail in Beijing on Tuesday -- and once again it was the boxers who did the trick at the Olympic Games. Boxing team captain Kenny Egan and Belfast youngster Paddy Barnes assured themselves of bronze medals at least when they won their respective quarterfinals.

Barnes got the ball rolling with a comfortable 11-5 victory over Poland's Lukasz Maszczyk at light flyweight.