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Engineering student Wayne O'Donoghue leaving the Central Criminal Court in Cork yesterday. O'Donoghue (21), who will spend Christmas in prison, is due to be sentenced on January 24th in Ennis.

Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

National partnership talks to start after ferries settlement
A renewed attempt to kick-start talks on a new national partnership deal will be made by Government, employer and union representatives in the coming days.
Feeney hired investigator to inquire into Connolly
Billionaire Chuck Feeney hired a private investigator last July to inquire into allegations that Frank Connolly had travelled to Colombia in 2001 on a false passport.
Tears of relief - and a family silently leaving the court
Wayne O'Donoghue turned his head towards the wood-panelled floor and made the sign of the cross.

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Ireland

Hain reveals #16bn investment budget
A major £16 billion (€23.6 billion) 10-year infrastructural investment programme for Northern Ireland, with a huge portion of it to be spent on health and education, was yesterday announced by Northern Secretary Peter Hain. p
Prices higher in Dublin for most things, according to CSO survey
If you want to go out for a beer or a glass of wine, then you're better off doing it outside of Dublin, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO.) p
Complaints against doctors rising
The number of complaints made against doctors to the Medical Council which resulted in fitness-to-practise inquiries being held has increased significantly over the past 10 years, according to a new report. p
'Countless' lives saved by Irish on UN missions
"Countless" lives of some of the poorest people in the world have been saved because of the United Nations and because of the participation of Irish troops in its missions, according to Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea. p
€200,000 for woman who was not told of her cancer
A Dublin hospital has apologised before the High Court for serious errors in its care of a mother of three who was not told by the hospital for more than a year that tests on her had revealed cancerous cells in the bowel. p
Tara route plan would be 'a cultural travesty'
The planned M3 motorway through the Tara valley in Co Meath would be "a cultural travesty unworthy of our country", according to Dr Edel Bhreathnach, editor of a new book exploring the history, archaeology and mythology of Tara. p
New arts strategy emphasises grassroot art
The Arts Council yesterday published Partnership for the Arts, its strategy for the next five years. A result of exhaustive consultation with arts practitioners and others over the past year, the strategy, which sets out the council's goals for 2006 to 2010, is a new arts plan in all but name. p
Internet course changes lives of asylum seekers
Portuguese-speaking Angolans in Galway city and Brazilians in the south of the county have been connected through an innovative internet project at NUI Galway. p

Finance

Concern grows at WTO over deal for poor
Concern was growing at the WTO talks yesterday that a deal to help poorer states could prove difficult to secure. p
Social partnership 'aids growth'
The economy and society can still benefit from social partnership but the goals of the process should be updated, according to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC). p

World

US House to back harsh curbs on illegals
US: Thousands of undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States would become criminals overnight and be barred permanently from entering America, under a bill expected to be approved by the House of Representatives today. p
Bush defends war based on faulty intelligence
US: President George W Bush has accepted responsibility for going to war in Iraq on the basis of faulty intelligence but defended his decision as acting in America's national security interest. p
EU to look into CIA use of Europe for detention centres
EU: The European Parliament has decided to create a temporary committee to investigate the suspected use of European countries by the Central Intelligence Agency for the illegal detention and transport of terror suspects. p
Tueni killers 'terrified of democracy'
MIDDLE EAST: Tens of thousands of Lebanese gathered yesterday at the centre of Beirut to mourn legislator and newspaper publisher Gebran Tueni who, with two associates, Nicholas Flouti and Andre Mrad, was killed by a car bomb on Monday. p
Blair fights rearguard action to prevent new crisis
EU: When EU leaders gather this evening to try to hammer out a deal on the bloc's 2007-2013 budget, all smiles for the photographers will do little to clear the tense atmosphere that grips Brussels. p

Sport

Rooney highlights gulf in class
Manchester United 4 Wigan 0: Alex Ferguson had asked his players to demonstrate their togetherness, and there was something telling about the way every goal last night was followed by a massed huddle of all their outfield players. p
Doherty fightback fails to stop resurgent Davis
Snooker: Ken Doherty's fightback failed to stop Steve Davis advancing 9-7 to the semi-finals of the UK Championship at the Barbican centre in York last night. Davis remains on course, at the age of 48, to become the second oldest winner of a major title in the modern era. p