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A Lebanese woman inspects the remains of her truck, which was destroyed when a convoy was targeted before dawn by Israeli warplanes in Hadath, Lebanon, yesterday. It was the worst day of violence in Lebanon since the crisis began.

Photograph: Pierre Bou Karam/AP

Using handheld mobile phone while driving becomes offence
Using a handheld mobile phone while driving will become an offence from midnight tonight under new measures in the Road Traffic Act activated yesterday by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen, writes Conor Lally .

Census may cause electoral boundary changes
The Government has asked the Attorney General, Rory Brady, to advise on whether the preliminary census figures published yesterday should trigger the establishment of a constituency commission to revise the Dáil election boundaries in the autumn, write Stephen Collins & Carl O'Brien .
61 killed in Israeli strikes as US resists calls for ceasefire
Lebanon yesterday suffered its worst day of violence since Israel began its bombardment last week with at least 61 people killed in airstrikes. All but one of the dead were civilians, write Ferry Biedermann , in Beirut, and Sharmila Devi, in Jerusalem.

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Ireland

Ombudsman critical of care home charges
The Government is facing a new controversy over nursing home charges after it emerged that health authorities in recent months have illegally taken into account the income of spouses in determining the weekly amounts to be paid by patients in long-stay public facilities. p
Kerry man gets six years for assault
A man who was on trial for the murder of a father of six was jailed yesterday for six years on a lesser charge after the State accepted that he was not the man who delivered the fatal blow. p
#100,000 bribes allegation 'just filth'
Senator Don Lydon of Fianna Fáil has rejected as "filth" an allegation that he was given £100,000 to distribute as bribes to other councillors. p
Hospital death settlement of €1.7m agreed
The High Court yesterday approved a settlement of €1.7 million for the widow of a 29-year-old father of two who died after being admitted to Tallaght hospital where it was claimed there were significant delays in diagnosing his condition. p
Sexual offences Bill to protect children
The Government is to introduce legislation to give greater protection to children against sexual and labour exploitation, the Minister for Justice has announced. p
Irishman held in Spain over drug dealers' deaths is chief suspect
An Irishman being questioned in Spain last night in connection with the discovery of the remains of Dublin drug dealers Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg is the chief suspect in the double murder. p
State must pay full €18m cost of Carthy tribunal
The State is expected to pay over €18 million to cover the costs of the inquiry into the fatal shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara Co Longford over six years ago following Mr Justice Robert Barr's decision that the State should pay costs for all third parties to the tribunal. p
O'Loan's concern at role of MI5
Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan has expressed concern about how MI5 will be held accountable for its actions in Northern Ireland when responsibility for issues of British national security in the North passes from the PSNI to the British security services. p

Finance

ESB confirms it expects price rise of up to 20%
The ESB has confirmed it expects electricity prices to rise by between 10 and 20 per cent next year due to escalating fuel cost, particularly for gas and oil. Emmet Oliver reports p
Inflation set to moderate, says Fed chairman
The US Federal Reserve expects inflation to retreat from recent highs but could still raise interest rates, Ben Bernanke, chairman, told Congress yesterday. p
Punchestown Racecourse owners hope land sale will generate €10m
Part of Punchestown Racecourse may be sold so that its owners, Kildare Hunt Club (KHC), can settle its liabilities to the billionaire Getty family, writes Laura Slattery p
Davy upbeat for next year
The outlook for the economy remains positive for 2006 and 2007, but the pace of growth will slow towards the end of the decade, according to a report released yesterday by Dublin-based stockbroking firm Davy. p

World

Bush blocks federal funds for embryonic stem cell research
US: Casting his first veto since taking office more than five years ago, US president George Bush has blocked a bill that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cells. Mr Bush said research on stem cells drawn from new embryos was morally wrong, regardless of its putative medical potential. p
Polish workers freed from 'concentration camp' farm
ITALY: Police in southern Italy have freed 113 Poles from forced labour on a farm investigators compared to a concentration camp. p
EU response team for migrants proposed
EU: The EU should create a rapid-response force of border guards who can be sent to member states to help cope with sudden influxes of illegal migrants, the European Commission said yesterday. p
Death squads claim more victims in Iraq
IRAQ: While world attention focuses on events in Lebanon and Israel, violence in Iraq continues to escalate. Twenty employees of the religious trust which cares for Sunni mosques, schools and shrines were kidnapped yesterday and at least 22 people were killed in a series of bombings and shootings in the capital and at other flashpoints. p

Sport

Murray the hero as Cork head for Red Star
SOCCER/Champions League, Apollon Limassol 1 Cork City 2 (Cork win 2-1 agg): Ireland may have provided a lacklustre display at Nicosia's national stadium back in October, but Cork City produced a performance of passion and quality last night to advance to the second round of the Champions League with an aggregate win over Cypriot Champions Apollon Limassol. p
Moran set to resist quarter-final move
GAELIC GAMES: The Central Games Administration Committee are facing a potential crisis over the scheduling of the football championship. Gavin Cummiskey reports. p