THE Department of Foreign Affairs has updated its travel advice for transgender people heading to America after a major rule change.
Irish citizens travelling to the US must have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorisation or by obtaining an US visa.
ESTA and visa application forms to the US now require travellers to declare their sex.
In an update this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs noted: “The US authorities have indicated that this should reflect, what they term, the traveller’s biological sex at birth.
“Travellers who have an “X” marker on their passport or whose sex on their passport differs from sex assigned at birth should contact the Embassy of the United States of America in Dublin for further details on specific entry requirements.”
Ireland is the latest European country moving to update its travel guidance regarding how people’s gender is listed on their travel documents.
Denmark and Finland have also updated heir travel guidance for transgender people planning to visit the US last week.
Finland has warned its citizen that US authorities may deny entry if the gender on an applicant’s passports differs from the gender listed at birth.
Travellers who have an “X” marker on their passport or whose sex on their passport differs from sex assigned at birth should check with US authorities beforehand.
And the UK has also revised its travel guidance, noting that British citizens who fail to meet entry requirements when travelling to the US could face arrest or detention.
Germany has also informed its citizens that having an US visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry into the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs advised Irish citizens intending to travel to the US should “familiarise themselves with US entry requirements.”
They added: “Previous convictions in the United States, misleading information about the purpose of your stay, entry without inspection, or even a slight overstay during travel can have serious consequences.
“Failure to adhere to US immigration law can lead to refusal of entry at the border, detention, and/or removal from the US.
“As an Irish citizen, if you are detained, you have the right to contact the Embassy of Ireland or the nearest Consulate General of Ireland.”
At his inauguration speech Trump announced that US government policy would only recognise two genders, male and female – ending the practice of providing a third gender option in some settings.
Trump described “a society that is colour-blind and merit based” as he set out his vision of a United States “respected again and admired again”.
Days later he signed an order to rid the military of what he called “transgender ideology” and effectively ban transgender troops.
He also issued an order to restrict gender transition procedures for people under age 19.
Trump also used transgender rights as a cleavage during the 2024 election campaign.
One of Trump’s most successful attack lines against his election rival targeted her support for trans rights.
He said: “Kamala Harris is for they/them. President Trump his for you”.
A SNEAKY spider that becomes “virtually invisible to predators” has been discovered.
The critter is described as a “master architect”, and makes an unusual white hole that scientists say is “unlike anything seen before”.
Two different spiders were found in the Kimberly region of northern Australia.
They’ve been named Kwonkan fluctellus and Kwonkan nemoralis, and were found during 2022’s “Bush Blitz” edpition.
Now they’ve been described in a research paper by scientists who say they’re both types of trapdoor spiders – unusual for the location.
“We didn’t discover these spiders in the typical dry savanna landscapes the Kimberley is known for,” said Dr Jeremy Wilson, of the University of Western Australia.
“But instead the specimens we found of Kwonkan nemoralis, which grows to around the size of a 20-cent coin, were located deep within a gorge that shelters patches of richer forest.
“These wetter forest patches are quite small and usually sheltered by the gorge.
“So when you enter them, it’s a completely different environment –much more humid, with a different collection of plant species.”
There are lots of different types of trapdoor spiders found all around the world.
But scientists say that the Kwonkan spiders built themselves an unusual kind of home.
“Unlike most related species that build simple open entrances to their burrows, spiders of the Kwonkan genus create elaborate burrow entrances with unique features,” Dr Wilson said.
“We were exploring along a small creek when we noticed distinctive circular burrows in the sandy banks.”
The circular burrows have a strange raised rim, and look like a kind of white tunnel inside.
That’s because the spiders create a “silk collar” that scientists say is extremely unusual.
“The burrows constructed by the Kwonkan nemoralis had a little collapsible silken collar around the entrance,” Dr Wilson explained.
“Which had grains of sand embedded in it and were unlike anything we’d seen before.
“Clever engineering that serves multiple functions.
“When disturbed, the collar around the burrow’s entrance collapses and seals the entrance, while the sand blends perfectly with the surrounding landscape, making it virtually invisible to predators.
“One question we’re particularly interested in is why they build these unusual, modified entrances.
“And whether they may be adaptations to specific hunting strategies.
“Or for defending against predators such as scorpions, centipedes and wasps, which we know hunt these spiders.”
One theory is that the design can also help to protect the spiders from unexpected floods in dry areas.
The research was published in the Australian Journal of Taxonomy.
PEP GUARDIOLA admits he and his underperforming Manchester City stars do not deserve a bonus if they are crowned world champions this summer – not even a souvenir watch!
The outgoing Premier League champs head to the States to take part in the first ever FIFA Club World Cup this summer.
It is a competition which City’s Abu Dhabi owners are placing great focus on – and FIFA upped the stakes this week by announcing astonishing prize money.
The winners will walk away with around £100 million – roughly what the bottom-placed Premier League club makes over the entire season in TV and prize money.
That would normally mean a healthy bonus coming the way of City staff.
But straight-talking Guardiola says he and his staff on and off the pitch will not merit it, after their miserable domestic campaign.
He said: “We don’t deserve it this season.
“We don’t deserve a bonus this season. The bonus, if you win, I don’t know how much.
“You go there, (winning) it’s for the club. The managers, the backroom staff, the players we don’t deserve, not even a watch.”
Eye-watering bonuses are part and parcel of the top-level game, with reports that City regulars pocketed around £2 million each for winning the treble two seasons ago – half of that for success in the Champions League.
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Nonetheless, Guardiola’s under-achievers can still salvage something from their poor domestic season by winning the FA Cup.
Fifth-placed City visit Bournemouth, who have slipped to 10th, in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Guardiola said of the Cherries: “They have a special way of playing and it works with the players and the ideas that they have.
“Every team plays in a specific way and they do it really well. Other teams are more direct, other teams want more crosses.”
Guardiola is aiming to become only the fourth manager since World War Two to lift the FA Cup for a third time.
Te other three are certainly managerial legends too – Bill Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
IRISH fashion fans are racing to the tills to get their hands on a cropped trench coat in Marks & Spencer – and it comes in two colours.
The Cotton Rich Short Trench Coat has landed in stores and is also available online.
The cropped trench coat, with water-repellent, has a large collar and pockets.
Shoppers can choose from a classic neutral colour or sophisticated navy.
M&S bosses said the jacket is “effortlessly wearable”.
They said: “Step out in style, whatever the weather, with this chic cotton-rich trench coat.
“Its regular fit and cropped length create a modern silhouette that’s effortlessly wearable.
“Crafted from water-repellent Stormwear
fabric with added stretch, it’s as practical as it is comfortable.
“Timeless touches like a storm flap bring classic trench coat charm.
“M&S Collection: easy-to-wear wardrobe staples that combine classic and contemporary styles.”
Retailing at €82, it’s a piece that will stay in your wardrobe for years to come.
It comes in sizes 6 to 24 but some popular sizes have been snapped up online already.
Sizes 6, 8, 10 in the neutral colour are gone and 8, 10, 24 are sold out in the navy version.
Shoppers took to the reviews to rate the cropped jacket five stars.
One fan said: “The jacket is an essential item for spring and will look great with the wide leg trousers and palazzo jeans.
“It is a great neutral colour and good quality material.
“The shape is great.”
Another said: “Amazing jacket. I sized up to 12. Looks stunning. I am normally size 8-10.”
One shopper shared: “Love the style, the quality and the fit. This makes me feel stylish.”
While another added: “The jacket is nice quality and looks great on.
“I usually wear a size 14 but the 10 fitted really nice and still looks a bit oversized.”
Meanwhile, another striking trench coat that has landed in Marks & Spencer.
The Cotton Rich Belted Longline Trench Coat is available online and in stores across the county.
The classic trench coat has pockets, turtle shell buttons and a statement collar.
It’s lightweight enough for sunny spring days but can also be layered up if you are in need of extra warmth.
WHEN Michael Marks, an immigrant from the north of England, was able to obtain a stall in Leeds' Kirkgate Market in 1884, M&S was born.
He used the catchphrase “Don’t ask the price, it’s a ‘penny'” to build his career after arriving with little money and minimal command of English.
His little booth selling basic home goods was rapidly booming because of this simple idea and his diligent work.
Michael teamed up with Dewhirst wholesalers’ cashier Tom Spencer to help his expanding firm.
This collaboration gave rise to “Marks & Spencer” and its initial Penny Bazaar locations, which helped the company take shape as we know it today.
Marks & Spencer then went on to first opened its doors in Ireland on Mary Street in Dublin on November 13, 1979.
More than 15,000 purchases were made on the first day of trading.
DONALD Trump’s B-2 bomber strike force is massing on the British island of Diego Garcia and is now aimed at Iran.
The Ayatollah is running out of time as he faces a deadline slapped on him by the American president over a new nuclear deal.
Trump has demanded the Iranian tyrant either sign a new agreement or potentially face military action.
Don gave the supreme leader a two-month deadline and there is just five weeks to go.
Iran has responded to Trump’s deadline through Oman as a middle man, Axios reports, but what they said is not yet known.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran said that it won’t negotiate with America directly as long as Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign is in place.
The Republican has also warned Tehran to immediately cease its support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
It had been thought the five B-2 Spirit bombers were aimed at Yemen and the Houthi terror group after Trump launched strikes against them last weekend.
The heavy bombers can obliterate targets with their huge 25 tonne bomb payload per jet.
Iran is a minimum 2,300 miles away from where the bombers are stationed in Diego Garcia.
But the B-2s have a range of a whopping 6,900 miles.
Trump and Iran have history and the US President could be looking to exact revenge for a failed assassination plot in revenge for the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
The President has given his team strict instructions to completely obliterate Iran if they ever assassinate him.
In February, Trump responded to a question over what protocols would instantly be triggered should he be killed by an Iranian plot by saying there is already a plan set.
He said: “I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left.”
Federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump and other US administration officials for years.
It was revealed in November, that an Iranian agent had been charged with plotting to kill Trump in an assassination that would have shaken the world.
US prosecutors say the rogue state told ex-con Farhad Shakeri — said to be hiding in Tehran — to devise a seven-day plan to spy on and murder him.
In a chilling letter delivered to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on March 7, Trump suggested direct negotiations of a fresh nuclear agreement between the two counties.
But he also made a chilling warning of the consequences if Iran were to reject the offer and continues to advance its nuclear programme dubbed Axios, reports claim.
The same day the letter was sent, Trump admitted to Fox Business that the US was “down to the final moments” with Iran, adding that there would be “interesting days ahead” having “written them a letter”.
He added that if a deal wasn’t made, Iran would have to face the US “militarily”.
According to US officials and sources, the letter was “tough,” and was delivered by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff directly to the UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed.
Trump launched a blitz on Houthi rebels in the capital Sanaa on March 15 in response to the terror group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The Houthis have launched more than 100 attacks since November 2023, claiming they are targeting vessels linked to Israel over the war in Gaza.
This moving aerial military arsenal has included essential accessories for the deadly B-2 bombers.
Satellite imagery also showed three C-17 cargo planes and ten refuelling tankers being sent toward the isolated British territory, according to analyst IntelFrog.
Several B-2 bombers were spotted moving from the Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri to Diego Garcia.
These mass movements of deadly military aircraft, especially in this region, are unusual and could signal an extreme escalation in tension between the US and Iran.
DONALD Trump has made his loathing for Iran clear time and time again.
The US President sparked panic in Iran after he killed Qasem Soleimani in a 2020 airstrike.
Iran appeared to take the idea of assassinating Trump seriously with important figures in the country, like one Iranian spy, saying Trump should be executed.
Two hitmen were arrested as part of an alleged for-hire plot to take out Trump before the November 5 election.
The US President has threatened to blitz the nation and recently gave Iran a chilling two-month deadline to fall into line and strike up a new nuclear agreement.
Trump has also warned Tehran to immediately cease its support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
He threatened the nation would face consequences if they rejected a nuclear agreement offer.
Trump said that if a deal wasn’t made, Iran would have to face the US “militarily”.