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Ballymun children celebrating the move of the first 25 families from the Ballymun flats to their new houses as part of the regeneration of the area

Photograph: Alan Betson

Stout defenders call time on a proposal for the instant pint
Attempts by Guinness to pull a fast one on its customers have been greeted with a mixture of scepticism and hostility from stout defenders.
Harmonisation of EU taxes is out - Harney
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, has said Ireland will never agree to tax harmonisation in the EU. This followed remarks by the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, who again stated his support for the concept.
Pearl killing act of barbarism - Bush
President Bush yesterday strongly condemned the killing of the kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter, Mr Daniel Pearl.

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World

Israelis show signs of wanting to ease tension
MIDDLE EAST: Israel announced the lifting of a series of restrictions on the Palestinians yesterday, but the violence in the region continued, with one Israeli killed by Palestinian gunmen, a second Israeli shot and wounded by Israeli troops who had mistaken him for a Palestinian gunman, and a Palestinian shot dead in a Jewish settlement as he tried to detonate a bomb. p
Leader of UNITA killed by Angolan soldiers
ANGOLA: The Angolan army has killed Jonas Savimbi, who has led the UNITA rebel group's fight for power in the country for more than 30 years, the army and government said in a joint statement last night. p
Bush urges China to adopt Western values
CHINA: President Bush yesterday held up American values as a model for China, urging the country's leaders to expand personal, religious and political freedoms for its people. p

Ireland

Two convicted dealers can work as official livestock agents
Two west Cork men who have been convicted in the courts of serious offences involving illegal movements of animals have been officially licensed by the Department of Agriculture to work as livestock agents, The Irish Times has learned. p
Belgium worried by paedophile move
Belgian authorities today expressed concern over an Irish court decision to release a convicted paedophile on condition that he spend the rest of his life in Belgium. p
C of I bishop says amendment proposals are 'disastrous'
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe has described as "disastrous" the Government's approach to the abortion referendum. In a strongly-worded statement yesterday, the Rt Rev Michael Mayes said that the abortion question required detailed legislation and not the constitutional amendment proposed by the Government. p
Punchestown finances under scrutiny
A draft PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) report into the operation and financial affairs of Punchestown racecourse states that net assets were overestimated by £14 million on December 31st last due to the alleged mis-description of liabilities as capital and reserves, the High Court was told yesterday. p
Tourists are unhappy with high prices for drinking and eating out
Satisfaction levels of visitors to Ireland have been "drifting downwards" since the mid-1990s, Bord Fáilte's latest survey on visitor attitudes reveals. The overall satisfaction level remains high but, the tourist board's acting chief executive said, there was ample opportunity to improve in some areas. p
Lebanon soldier loses claim for damages
A former soldier yesterday lost his High Court action for damages over the Army's alleged failure to identify and treat psychological and psychiatric problems which he claimed to have developed as a consequence of serving in Lebanon. p
FG urges McDowell to resign after SF comments
Fine Gael has called on the Attorney General to resign after what Sinn Féin's Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has called a "hysterical diatribe" against his party. p
Unionists fear further attacks
Unionists have expressed concern about further attacks by republican paramilitaries following the murder of a Catholic man in Castlewellan, Co Down. p

Finance

Further bad news on drug trials cuts 9% off Elan shares
Shares in embattled drugmaker Elan fell by more than 9 per cent yesterday as it emerged that the number of patients taken ill in trials of its experimental Alzheimer's vaccine had increased. p
Retail sales jump 12% ahead of euro
Retail sales surged nearly 12 per cent in the run-up to Christmas as consumers spent their hoarded pounds ahead of the introduction of the euro. The value of sales in December rose by 11.9 per cent on a year earlier, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday. p
Assurance staff legally oppose business transfer
A number of long-serving employees of Irish Life Assurance plc have objected at the High Court to the proposed transfer of the company's Industrial Assurance Business to Royal Liver Assurance Limited, due to come into effect on February 28th. p

Sport

Russians threaten boycott
The biggest crisis in Olympic politics for 18 years continued to escalate last night when the Kremlin urged Russia's athletes to boycott the games' closing ceremony tomorrow and team officials filed another protest against a decision in the figure skating. p