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A member of the Garda forensic team at the junction of Clonliffe Road and Ballybough Road in Dublin, where a man was shot dead last evening by a passenger on a motorcycle during rush hour.

State set to announce plans for dialogue with churches
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is today expected to outline plans for the start of a new formal discussion among the State, churches and faith communities on areas of common concern.

State gets close to buying West-Link toll bridge
The Government's negotiations to buy the West-Link toll bridge in Dublin from the private company which operates it are believed to be close to conclusion for a price in the region of €600 million.
Man shot dead on Dublin street
Gardaí were last night investigating Dublin's latest gangland-style killing after a man was shot dead on a busy city street in the middle of the evening rush hour.

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Ireland

Minister to 'vigorously contest' ruling in Supreme Court
The Department of Justice is to appeal yesterday's High Court ruling that it had breached the rights of hundreds of Irish children, in not taking their welfare into account, when denying their non-Irish parents the right to remain in the State. p
Operators to give centre back to owners
Dublin Waterworld Ltd is to hand over possession of the €62 million National Aquatic Centre on November 30th next to the State company which owns the facility, Campus Stadium Ireland Development Ltd (CSID), the Supreme Court was told yesterday. p
Artist Pauline Bewick donates works worth €3m to State
One of Ireland's best-known artists, Pauline Bewick, has donated over 600 of her works to the State in what President Mary McAleese has described as "one of the loveliest acts of generosity ever given to our nation". p
Imam calls for attack in Ireland - BBC
An Islamic cleric who was exiled from the UK for his support for terrorism has advocated an attack on Dublin airport,according to a BBC investigation. p
Project to make maths more relevant launched
Teaching maths will never be the same again. A hands-on programme that makes maths relevant and interesting has reached Ireland, the first country outside the US to introduce the scheme. p
Gardaí did not follow regulations, inquest told
Gardaí at Tallaght station in Dublin did not follow custody regulations for dealing with intoxicated persons and a man subsequently died in his cell from a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, an inquest has heard. p

World

Blair says settlement of Palestinian issue key to Middle East peace
BRITAIN: British prime minister Tony Blair used a one-hour video testimony to the Iraq Study Group in Washington yesterday to repeatedly press his case that a settlement of the Palestinian-Israel dispute would be the single best way of calming the chaos in Iraq. p
Congo faces new civil war threat in rejection of vote
CONGO: The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing the threat of another civil war after the well-armed opposition yesterday rejected president Joseph Kabila's victory in the first free presidential election since independence p
Former prisoners seek to prosecute Rumsfeld
US: A US human rights group has launched a fresh attempt in Germany to prosecute outgoing US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld for alleged abuse of detainees at US-run prison camps. p
Police arrested after Iraq mass kidnapping
IRAQ: Five senior Iraqi police officers were arrested last night after gunmen in police uniforms seized scores of people at a prominent scientific research institute in Baghdad in an audacious operation that underlined the lawlessness permeating the Iraqi capital and the threat it poses to the country's tottering education system. p

Finance

Ryanair bid stalls on negligible take-up
Ryanair's takeover bid for Aer Lingus stalled yesterday as holders of less than 0.1 per cent of the company's shares had accepted its €2.80 a share bid as of Monday's deadline. p
Digicel may raise $2.5bn for US flotation
Denis O'Brien has stepped up his efforts to court the US media with an interview in Time magazine which suggests that he may raise up to $2.5 billion (€1.95 billion) in a flotation of his rapidly expanding Caribbean telco Digicel to fund its entry into the hugely-competitive US market. p
Norkom profits rise 41% on back of major client wins
The "leadership question" in Norkom's target market will be decided within two years, chief executive Paul Kerley said yesterday when announcing the company's first results since its June flotation. p

Sport

Minnows must be quickly dispatched
SOCCER/Republic of Ireland v San Marino: Having themselves looked like a team of part-timers a little over a month ago in Nicosia, Steve Staunton's men get to meet the real thing at Lansdowne Road tonight when, unusually these days, the home players will be under pressure to live up to rather high expectations. p
Corcoran criticises Cork County Board
GAA: Brian Corcoran has launched a scything attack on the Cork County Board for the manner in which they overlooked the candidacy of Ger Cunningham and Patsy Morrissey for the hurling manager's job. p

Features

Bite without spite
Once dubbed 'the most dangerous man in Ireland', management guru Ivor Kenny tells Kathy Sheridan why business managers are the 'salt of the earth' p
Aladdin's cave of music
Technology and history collide at the Irish Traditional Music Archive's new home, writes Siobhán Long p