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Martin O Cogain, Rosie O'Regan and Niall Burke in Man of La Mancha, which opened at Cork Opera House last night.

Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

Irish women to face UK court over alleged marriage scam
Two Irish women are to appear before an English court next week charged with an alleged marriage scam involving an illegal immigrant in the UK, writes Joe Humphreys

UN body rejects Goodman claim for €272.8m
A compensation claim for $330 million (€272.8 million) submitted by Irish beef baron Mr Larry Goodman and his family, for financial losses incurred as a result of the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1991, has been rejected by the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), The Irish Times has learned. Denis McClean reports from Geneva
Dublin Bus blames Luas for traffic jams
Dublin Bus has formally complained to the agency responsible for the Luas, saying a trial run of the light rail system resulted in "severe traffic congestion" and caused some city centre buses to run up to 30 minutes late on Tuesday. Carl O'Brien reports

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World

France to block Irish candidate for EU job
FRANCE: France has indicated that it will not support any Irish candidate to succeed Mr Romano Prodi as president of the European Commission, writes Denis Staunton in Brussels. p
US drops resolution to shield its forces abroad
US: In the wake of the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, a majority of the UN security council yesterday blocked a draft US resolution that would continue shielding US troops from war crime charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Conor O'Clery reports from New York. p
Talks begin on nuclear standoff
US/NORTH KOREA: Six-nation talks to resolve the nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula have kicked off with an offer of economic aid and possible security guarantees by the United States if North Korea promised to abandon its plans to develop atomic weapons, writes Clifford Coonan in Beijing. p
Police chief continues to refuse order to quit over Soham report
BRITAIN: The British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, faced an extraordinary challenge to his authority last night, as Humberside Chief Constable Mr David Westwood again defied him and insisted he would not stand down, writes Frank Millar , London Editor.. p

Ireland

Benchmarking review next year as part of new pay deal
A new benchmarking review of public service pay is to begin next year as part of the national wage agreement, which was published yesterday. p
Station loses radio licence appeal
The operators of North West Radio (NWR), which has been broadcasting for the past 14 years, have lost their High Court challenge to the Broadcasting Commission's decision to grant a broadcasting licence for their area to a rival company. p
Ethics body to delay inquiry into FF TD's tax
The Standards in Public Office Commission has postponed its investigation into whether Mr Michael Collins TD made false tax declarations, pending a decision on whether the Limerick Fianna Fáil deputy will be prosecuted. p
Martin testifies on residential abuse
A 1955 memo from an official at the Department of Education, concerning a residential institution for children, said "the wonderful conditions in which the cattle are kept in marked contrast to the care and feeding of the boys." p
Suspension for Stagg after latest Labour row
Labour's chief whip Mr Emmet Stagg was suspended from the Dáil yesterday when he refused to withdraw allegations against the Ceann Comhairle of "outrageous rudeness" to opposition speakers. p
Irish look forward to longer lives
Women born in Ireland can expect to live to just beyond their 80th birthdays, five years longer than men. But the gap between the sexes is narrowing, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). p
Senator calls for Ryanair funding to be 're-declared'
The former minister and leader of the Seanad, Ms Mary O'Rourke, has called on all individuals and parties involved in framing aviation policy to "re-declare" any funding they received from Ryanair or its chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary. p
Courier gets 15-year jail term for possession of ecstasy
A 22-year-old courier who was found in possession of up to €8 million worth of ecstasy has been jailed for 15 years by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The seizure was the largest ever for the drug in the State. p
Report criticises dead girl's treatment
A report ordered by the North Eastern Health Board into the death of a nine-year-old girl within weeks of her having an appendix operation at Cavan General Hospital criticises the manner in which she was dealt with by the hospital when she returned to it with stomach pains just weeks after her surgery. p

Finance

Hanlon labels airport break-up as draconian
The chairman of Aer Rianta, Mr Noel Hanlon, has described the Bill breaking up the company as "draconian", but has stopped short of threatening legal action against the proposals. p
International broker acquires Coyle Hamilton in €70m deal
The Republic's biggest insurance broker, Coyle Hamilton, has been sold to international insurance broker Willis, with industry sources suggesting a price tag of more than €70 million. p
Crime costs business €2bn a year - ISME
Crime is costing Irish small and medium-sized businesses €2.15 billion annually and fewer than one in 10 such businesses are confident crimes committed against them would be solved, according to a new survey to be published today. p

Sport

Ireland win with top class display
Ireland 26 Australia 13 Magnificent. Brilliant. Wonderful. Choose a superlative. Hughenden rocked to the Fields of Athenry, a drenched Ireland team, replacements, squad members, management, supporters and parents whooping it up in the middle of the pitch, seconds after the final whistle. A Glasgow enclave will be forever Irish after last night's thunderous display. p
Dutch begin their redemption
Latvia 0 Holland 3 A ground with a cliff face behind one goal and a stone-fronted mound behind the other is as close as Dick Advocaat is ever likely to come to seeing his team quite literally between a rock and a hard place. p
D-Day weather stops any SW19 conflicts
Tennis Wimbledon 2004 It may have been the summer solstice three days ago, but yesterday at Wimbledon must have ranked as the longest day of the year. As clouds came scudding across London drenching SW19, the cathedral of blooming flowers and pristine state-of-the-art courts was reduced to a rat-run of cowering fans. p
Allenby ready for another test
Golf French Open Australia's Robert Allenby believes his battling final-round 70 at the US Open on Sunday could help him combat the rigours of a tight layout at Le National near Paris for the French Open which begins today. p