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Alternative coalition moves ahead of Government parties
The alternative government of Fine Gael and Labour has moved into a strong position to win the forthcoming general election, according to the latest TNS mrbi opinion poll carried out for The Irish Times . It shows a big swing to Fine Gael and another drop in support for Fianna Fáil, writes Stephen Collins , Political Editor.State may do U-turn on card surcharge ban
The Government is to row back on an earlier decision to outlaw surcharges on credit card payments, The Irish Times understands. Paul Cullen , Consumer Affairs Correspondent reports.
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Ireland
Towns and villages are fastest growing centres
Towns, both large and small, and villages are the fastest growing centres of population in Ireland. Proportionately, fewer people are living in cities, according to census data published by the Central Statistics Office. pLimerick criminal is killed in ambush on motorbike
Gardaí believe a gunman who shot dead a father of three in
Limerick city yesterday morning had intimate knowledge of his
movements. pReports of inspectors highlight school conditions
Substandard conditions in some primary schools and acute pressure on accommodation are highlighted in the latest batch of reports from Department of Education inspectors published yesterday. pCall for attack compensation
A leading public sector trade union has called on the Government to introduce a statutory compensation scheme for officials attacked and injured in the course of their work. pVoters are tired of smug Government, FG leader insists
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday said people were "tired"
of waiting for the general election and they were "tired and jaded
of this Government". pSurvey finds high levels of social isolation
Substantial levels of social isolation have been identified with one third of people reporting that they do not attend any social or leisure events, according to a new survey on mental health. pMan foundnot guilty of threatening to kill sister
A Lebanese national who was accused of threatening to kill his
sister has been acquitted by direction of the judge after two
prosecution witnesses failed to appear to give evidence. pCall for two more public holidays
Labour has called for the introduction of two more public holidays over the next five years to bring Ireland into line with most other EU countries. p
World
Bush set to veto Senate Bill on troop pull-out
US: The US Senate has approved a Bill that would
make funding for the Iraq war conditional on a commitment to
withdraw combat troops within a year, triggering a showdown with
President George Bush. pPutin in row with Nato over threat to end treaty
RUSSIA: New tensions between Nato and Russia erupted last night after President Vladimir Putin threatened to freeze his country's commitment to an international arms treaty. pCivilians continue to die in fierce Mogadishu shelling
SOMALIA: The Somali capital, Mogadishu, suffered some of the heaviest bombardment in nine days of fighting yesterday as Ethiopian tanks supporting the interim government shelled new areas of the city, despite a claim by the Somali prime minister to have routed Islamist insurgents. pHamas factions reaffirm truce in Gaza
MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian armed factions renewed their commitment to a Gaza Strip truce yesterday but said rocket salvoes from the territory could resume if Israel did not halt military operations in the occupied West Bank. pIran says it is close to 'united view' with EU on nuclear talks
IRAN: Iran's nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said yesterday that Iran and the EU were nearing a "united view" in some areas of their talks and new ideas were raised to break an international impasse over Tehran's atomic programme. p
Finance
VHI to fight cut in risk equalisation payments
VHI has vowed to campaign against a 20 per cent cut in payments to it from rival health insurers in compensation for having an older customer base. Paul Cullen , Consumer Affairs Correspondent, reports. pRyder Cup injected €143m into economy
A report commissioned by Fáilte Ireland shows that the
Ryder Cup injected €143 million into the economy, exceeding
expectations by more than €10 million.
Caroline Madden reports. pPay deal 'opt out' proposed for exporters
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin has raised the prospect of giving exporters who face severe pressure on their business due to currency fluctuations opt-out clauses from parts of future social partnership pay deals, writes Arthur Beesley , Senior Business Correspondent, in Druid's Glen p
Sport
Chelsea at their ease sitting on goal lead
SOCCER/Uefa Champions League: Goals are precious
and Chelsea have the greatest horror of squandering them. With
Andriy Shevchenko an irregular contributor, it is as if there is a
limited supply that must not be used without prolonged forethought.
The victory over Liverpool in the home leg of the Champions League
semi-final was their 12th 1-0 win of the current campaign. Rafael
Benitez' side have a similar mentality but they have won by that
score on only five occasions this season. pGovernment rejects submission
GAELIC GAMES/Player welfare grants: The Government has rejected the submission for player welfare grants recently agreed between the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). p
