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An injured student is carried out of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, yesterday after a gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom, killing at least 32 people.

Photograph: Alan Kim/AP/The Roanoke Times

Gunman kills 33 at US university campus
At least 33 people have died and 26 are being treated in hospital after the worst mass killing in US history after a lone gunman opened fire in a dormitory and a number of classrooms at a Virginia university.
Stamp duty reform key battleground in election campaign
Stamp duty reform emerged as the key battleground in the election campaign so far which moved up a gear yesterday despite the fact that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern still has not announced a date for going to the polls.
EBS board votes to remove Tinney after 'damaging events'
Non-executive EBS director Ethna Tinney lost her attempt to be re-elected to the board yesterday, though by a relatively narrow margin.

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Ireland

Consultants set to begin disruption in dispute on contracts
Hospital consultants look set to embark on their own campaign of industrial action from next weekend over the decision by Minister for Health Mary Harney to try to recruit new consultants on terms which have not been agreed with their union. p
Murder trial told man attacked his sister with hammer
A 21 year-old Clare man accused of murdering his 17-year-old sister told gardaí he did not know why he killed her and that he loved her, a jury in the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday. p
Graffiti justice nothing to write home about
CRIME the small stuff: Convictions for graffiti can mean a 10-year jail term but the few cases that end up in court result in trivial fines. Ronan McGreevy reports p
Council told of threat to water last year
New political exchanges erupted yesterday after it was revealed that a filtration system that could eliminate cryptosporidium and be installed within 10 weeks without disrupting the water supply was outlined to Galway City Council last September. p
Gardaí await postmortem results after body found in Thurles
Gardaí in Co Tipperary have not yet established the identity of a man whose naked body was found in a hurling field in Thurles on Sunday evening. p
Spirit wins competition for religious radio station licence
The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has awarded the licence for a new religious broadcasting service to Spirit Radio. p
Department to query source of Pearse's letter to Gen Maxwell
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism confirmed yesterday that it was examining the provenance of a letter written by Patrick Pearse before his execution and which is due to be auctioned in Dublin later today. p
Cork woman's 7 hours in labour in waiting room
A young mother yesterday told of how she spent seven hours in labour in the admissions room at the new €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital after she was told that there were not any beds available in the hospital's labour ward. p
Ahern gets on track for election with launch of Adamstown station
The general election may not have been called yet, but the Taoiseach began limbering up at Heuston Station yesterday. Bertie Ahern was sauntering down the concourse to catch a train to the new Adamstown station in west Dublin when someone whispered that the entourage might miss the train. p

World

Sudan accepts UN attack helicopters for Darfur
SUDAN: Sudan's foreign minister yesterday announced that his government had agreed to the deployment of United Nations helicopter gunships in Darfur as part of a plan to bolster fragile peacekeeping operations in the region. p
Nigerian election chaos ruling clears way for Abubakar presidential bid
NIGERIA: A ruling by Nigeria's supreme court yesterday raised uncertainty over controversial state elections last weekend and opened the way for a late presidential bid by vice-president Atiku Abubakar. p
Al-Sadr ministers leave Iraqi government
IRAQ: Six ministers belonging to the movement headed by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr resigned yesterday in protest at the Iraqi government's refusal to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. p
Poll win allows Correa to pursue radical reform
ECUADOR: A triumphant President Rafael Correa faced off against a weakened opposition yesterday at the start of a battle for control of a new assembly that Ecuadoreans overwhelmingly voted to create in a referendum. p

Finance

CRH spends €225m on foreign acquisitions
Building materials giant CRH is spending €225 million on acquisitions in Turkey and the US. p
EBS board members face harsh criticism from floor
At times yesterday afternoon it seemed as if the revolution was about to break out in the unlikely location of Dublin 4, with EBS non-executive director Ethna Tinney in the role of Liberty Leading the People. p
Assets of unions climb to €15bn
Consumers borrowed and saved record amounts at credit unions last year, keeping €13.3 billion on deposit and borrowing €7.5 billion. p
Moritz to invest €500m in Romanian malls
Developer Michael Whelan's Moritz Group is planning to invest €500 million in building 10 shopping malls in Romania. p

Sport

McDowell's second may prove good launch pad
GOLF: Sometimes, winning isn't everything; even for a professional golfer. And, in time, Graeme McDowell - who has rededicated himself to the PGA European Tour - may reflect on his runners-up finish to Markus Brier in the China Open as a significant turning point in pursuit of a place in the world's top-50, something that had seemed as attainable as reaching Mars for much of a miserable season in 2006. p
Rocky spell but Fenlon not out of his league
SOCCER: It's a measure, perhaps, of the progress made by Stephen Kenny in his couple of years at the Brandywell that his successor, Pat Fenlon, now finds himself coming under pressure to provide early evidence he can bring Derry City to the "next level". p
Cheika stresses league's importance
RUGBY/Celtic League: The contrast in excitement levels from a year ago is a little depressing for the Irish rugby supporter. Remember, this was the week the Red Army were prepping vocal chords ahead of the storming of Lansdowne. p