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Irish Special Olympics athlete Patrick Dorgan from Cork, who won two bronze medals in table tennis, is met by his brother Ger at Dublin airport.

Photograph: Aidan Crawley

LRC talks today to tackle Aer Lingus dispute
The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) is to meet today with management and pilots' representatives at Aer Lingus in an effort to avert the dispute which could ground flights at the airline from Tuesday. Martin Wall , Industry Correspondent, reports.
FG raises Dunphy allegation on Ahern
Fine Gael has described as "dramatic and potentially damaging new information" the claim to the Mahon tribunal by broadcaster and journalist Eamon Dunphy that the property developer Owen O'Callaghan told him he had paid money to Bertie Ahern in the early 1990s. Stephen Collins and Colm Keena.
Brush up on your Gaeilge, EU warns Government
The European Commission has told the Government it needs to brush up on its Irish grammar or risk undermining the use of Gaeilge as an official EU language, writes Jamie Smyth in Brussels.

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World

Gore says Nobel Prize must spur climate action
US: Former US vice-president Al Gore has said he hopes his award yesterday of the Nobel Peace Prize will raise consciousness about climate change throughout the world. He promised to give his share of the $1.5 million prize money to a group that tries to change public opinion about global warming. p
US urged to conduct 'vigorous' inquiry into deaths
IRAQ: A bomb hidden in a cart of toys killed two children and wounded 17 others in a playground in northern Iraq yesterday, the first day of a national holiday to celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. p
PKK claims it is not Iraq-based to deter attack
TURKEY: The main Kurdish rebel group, the PKK, tried to deflect a Turkish attack on its bases in northern Iraq by claiming yesterday it was redeploying into Turkey. Such a redeployment would remove the main reason for the Turkish government to mount a cross-border attack into Iraqi Kurdistan; but Ankara is likely to treat the statement with scepticism. p
Mother held for 'buying son (14) a rifle'
US: The mother of a 14-year-old boy who confessed to planning an armed assault on a Pennsylvania high school was arrested yesterday on suspicion of buying a rifle for her son, police said. p

Ireland

Jail for 'anarchic' trio in arson attack
Three Limerick teenagers began lengthy jail sentences yesterday for their parts in a horrific arson attack which left a young brother and sister scarred for life. Kathryn Hayes reports. p
Murder inquiry to follow postmortem
Gardaí in Co Cork last night opened a murder inquiry after preliminary post mortem results showed the man found in a slurry tank on a farm near Dunmanway died of blunt force trauma to the head, writes Barry Roche , Southern Correspondent, in Dunmanway, Co Cork p
Gormley approves water pollution penalties
New penalties including fines of up to €500,000 for local authorities that pollute water resources have been approved by the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley. Tim O'Brien reports. p
Safety warning over methadone crisis
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has claimed that the risk of "significant public order incidents" cannot be underestimated arising from plans by 140 pharmacists no longer to provide methadone to clients from Monday. p
One-day strike to hit major rail routes
Thousands of rail passengers face disruption on Monday as a result of a planned 24-hour stoppage by line inspection and maintenance staff. p
Lenihan to urge more family mediation
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has said he is examining ways of encouraging greater use of mediation services by people involved in family law disputes. p
McVities and Jacobs settle row over packaging
A dispute between biscuit companies Jacobs and McVities over allegedly confusing packaging of fig rolls and cream crackers has been settled at the High Court. p
Water charges in North rejected - report
Northern Ireland consumers should not have separate water bills, an independent review panel has recommended to the Stormont Executive. p

Finance

IBM says some O2 tasks to be moved offshore
IBM has told O2 Ireland that some functions will be moved offshore if it is awarded the outsourcing contract to manage the mobile operator's technology systems, The Irish Times has learned. p
Tesco to sell north Dublin warehouse for over €120m
Tesco Ireland is preparing to sell its newly-opened distribution warehouse in Donabate, north Co Dublin, for more than €120 million. Under the terms of the deal, Tesco would lease back the 46-acre property for 25 years. p
Aer Lingus fuel surcharge to rise
Aer Lingus plans to increase its fuel surcharge on long-haul flights by about €5 per journey as a response to rising global oil prices. Oil prices touched $83 a barrel this week, close to an all-time high. p
Lenders pass on increased costs
Irish lenders have passed on the increased cost of buying money in the international markets to borrowers following the recent collapse in the US subprime mortgage market, new figures show. p

Sport

Staunton must get it right in midfield
SOCCER/Republic of Ireland v Germany: Perhaps having come to appreciate in Prague just how difficult it was to raise Ireland's game to the point where they might beat one of this group's top two sides, Steve Staunton seemed content to lower expectations yesterday at Croke Park where, surprisingly, he conceded his side would start this evening's European Championship qualifier as outsiders. p
First cut could prove lethal
RUGBY: This is it then, le Crunch yet again. The nagging feeling remains that the 2007 Coupe du Monde in France has already served up its best game and that was in Cardiff. p
Els and Stenson are hot on trail of Harrington
World Matchplay Championship/Quarter-finals: At some stage today, Padraig Harrington is scheduled to board a commercial flight to Bermuda on his way to participate in the so-called 'Grand Slam of Golf,' even though Tiger Woods won't be there. p