Week 1 - Monday
Midlands Today with Will Faulkner
Monday, 5 January 2026 - 2 hours 5 minutes
Farmers mobilise as Mercosur showdown looms — Midlands MEP Ciaran Mullooly outlines plans for a major national protest in Athlone against the EU–Mercosur trade deal, warning it poses an existential threat to Irish beef farming as political pressure mounts on the Government to honour its opposition pledge.
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Global tensions and local analysis — security expert Declan Power unpacks the dramatic arrest of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, escalating threats from US president Donald Trump, and the wider implications for global security, oil markets and international law.
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Road deaths, litter and community safety — new RSA figures show 2025 was the deadliest year on Irish roads in almost a decade, with fatalities rising across Laois, Offaly and Westmeath; Athlone loses its clean status in the latest IBAL survey while Tullamore climbs to fifth nationally; and Gardaí urge renewed vigilance as winter conditions set in.
