The Irish Times, Irish News Online, International, Sports & Business News

New deputy leader of the Labour Party Joan Burton (right) is congratulated by outgoing deputy leader Liz McManus and losing candidate Jan O'Sullivan after votes were counted at the RHA Gallery, Dublin, yesterday.

Photograph: Kate Geraghty

Secret US memos at centre of torture allegations
Democrats in Congress have called on the White House to hand over two secret memos that apparently still authorise painful interrogation techniques that the administration publicly renounced three years ago.
O'Brien move may restrict tribunal reports
Businessman Denis O'Brien is seeking to restrict the chairman of the Moriarty tribunal as to the type of conclusions he can make in his pending report.
Claim that written-off cars put back on road to be investigated
An investigation involving the Garda, the Department of Transport, the Revenue Commissioners and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has been launched into a claim that cars classed as total write-offs and unfit to drive again following road crashes have been put back on the road.

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Ireland

Trade union leader warns of 3% cut in HSE budget next year
The country's largest trade union, Siptu, has warned that the health service is facing further spending cuts next year. p
Plans for four new Oireachtas committees
The Government is to establish four new joint Oireachtas committees, including a new committee on children to agree the wording of a proposed referendum on child protection, The Irish Times has learned. p
Taoiseach downplays O'Dea pub episode as normal spat
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has supported the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, following allegations that he sought to fight a man in a pub in Limerick after a row. p
Ghettoisation of immigrants warning
President Mary McAleese has warned against the ghettoisation of immigrants and said newcomers must be given every chance to join society's mainstream. p
FF TD criticises Government on Amgen decision
Cork East Fianna Fáil TD Ned O'Keeffe yesterday accused the Government of failing to heed the warning signs about Amgen and said that IDA Ireland did not properly assess the risk of the company not proceeding with its 1,100-job plant in east Cork. p
Fashion expert says top 'common design'
A fashion expert has told the High Court that the type of woman's top at the centre of a landmark legal dispute between UK clothing stores and Dunnes Stores was "a very common design" and she had found 580,000 references on the internet to such a top. p
Extra storage sought for 2,800 e-voting machines
Additional premises are still being sought to store the 2,800 e-voting machines that will not fit in a new centralised premises in Gormanston, Co Meath. p
Playful Tailoring: McCartney catches the Paris mood
Paris Fashion Week: The backdrop to Stella McCartney's triumphant show in Paris yesterday was a remarkable vertical garden, the result of a collaboration with the French botanist Patrick Blanc using more than 20 plant species like sedges and ferns from English country gardens. p
Green army's tennis team turn tables on Chinese
Who says Ireland can't beat China at their own game? When the game in question is table tennis, and Team Ireland boasts just eight athletes while China fields a total of 56 - not to mention the fact that table tennis is pretty much the Chinese national sport - the tables might seem to be a little, um, loaded. p

Finance

Decline in house prices accelerating, index shows
The decline in house prices is accelerating, according to data from the latest Permanent TSB / ESRI house price index, with prices in Dublin falling for the first time. Figures show that prices across the State are now 1.9 per cent lower than at the same time last year. p
Airtricity North America to be sold for $1.4bn
Irish wind energy group Airtricity has agreed to sell its operations in the US and Canada to German giant Eon in a deal valued at $1.4 billion (€1 billion). p
ECB holds interest rates at 4%
European interest rates were firmly on hold yesterday after the global credit squeeze appeared to have left the European Central Bank all but dropping plans for a rise, while the Bank of England also left its main rate unchanged. p
Ibec calls for capital spending to increase by 20%
The Government should increase planned capital spending under the National Development Plan by one-fifth next year as a counterweight to a slowing economy, employers' group Ibec says in its 2007 budget submission, published yesterday. p

World

State could be left out of EU justice measures
BELGIUM: The Government could be excluded from taking part in EU justice measures to which it has already signed up under the proposed EU reform treaty. p
All 3,200 trapped miners rescued
SOUTH AFRICA: With fatigue, hunger and relief etched on their faces, miners emerged from an accident-stricken gold mine yesterday after being trapped underground for more than 24 hours. p
Crackdown in Burma a dilemma for region
BURMA: Southeast Asia's political union is divided on how it can demonstrate opposition to its repressive member's actions, writes John Burton p

Sport

Wallabies hop ball on foul play
RUGBY World Cup Australia v England: Australia have made an official request for tomorrow's quarter-final referee, Dublin's Alain Rolland, to pay close attention to what they allege England hooker Mark Regan gets up to on the field, in particular the way he throws into the lineout. p
Simple facts of life at the coalface
New Zealand v France: Ali Williams is an interesting character. Like the majority of frontline locks at the cutting edge of Test rugby, he's had his blips. He's fought the law and hasn't always won. But he doesn't mumble platitudes. The man has a sense of humour and he can rap. p
Morgan objects to proposed long ban
Gaelic Games News round-up: Cork football manager Billy Morgan says that he was shocked by the suggested sideline ban of six months, proposed by the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) in respect of an incident during last month's All-Ireland final defeat by Kerry. p
Just a fine would suit Celtic just fine
SOCCER Uefa Champions League: Celtic are likely to escape with no more than a heavy fine from Uefa after the bizarre scenes that followed Scott McDonald's last-minute winner against AC Milan in Glasgow on Wednesday night. p