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Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey arriving at RTÉ in Dublin yesterday. Mr Dempsey announced that holders of a second provisional licence will be allowed to continue driving unaccompanied until June 30th.

Photograph: Gareth Chaney Collins

Dempsey pledges to eliminate driving test waiting list
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has given a firm commitment that the waiting list for driving tests will be eliminated by next June when the deferred restriction on learner drivers comes into force.
Turkish troops kill 20 rebels as Kurdish crisis deepens
Some 8,000 Turkish troops backed by helicopter gunships killed 20 rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the central eastern Turkish province of Tunceli yesterday, as tension continues to mount over a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq.
Minister in suicide case calls for change in Irish law
The Department of Justice is studying a 32-page ruling by a West Virginia judge denying the extradition of Rev George Exoo (65) for assisting a suicide in Ireland five years ago.

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Ireland

Child asylum hostels fail minimum standards
Separated children seeking asylum are being housed in accommodation centres which fail to meet legal minimum standards of care or safety, health authorities have admitted. p
UUP chief accuses DUP of series of U-turns
Sir Reg Empey used his leader's address to the UUP's annual conference to claim responsibility for ensuring devolution at Stormont was to unionists' liking. p
Protest rally in Mayo seeks retention of cancer services
Some 7,000 people turned out in Castlebar, Co Mayo, yesterday in support of a campaign to maintain specialist cancer services in the northwest. p
Man to be charged after drugs seizure
A man is to appear in court this morning in connection with drugs and arms seizures in Dublin at the weekend. p
Jazz festival hits the right note with 45,000 music fans
More than 45,000 people converged on Cork over the weekend for the Guinness Jazz Festival, with music fans from as far away as Australia, America and Canada generating an estimated €25 million in revenue for the local economy. p
Call for help for those suffering post-polio syndrome
Polio survivors who recovered from their illness decades ago but have now contracted post-polio syndrome have urged the Government to do more to help them. p
Three men killed on the roads over weekend
There were three fatalities on the Republic's roads over the weekend, all of them men. It brings to 271 the number of people killed on roads in the State so far this year. p
Defence Forces personnel mark end of peace mission
Defence Forces personnel serving as peacekeepers in Lebanon marked the end of their year-long mission with a special ceremony at Camp Ida in Tibnin at the weekend. p
Clonakilty among top 10 rural tourism destinations in EU
Clonakilty in west Cork has been named as one of the European Union's top 10 tourism destinations in a new Europe-wide competition. p
Elite women to head the field
The 28th Dublin City Marathon gets under way this morning with an elite women's race heading the field for the first time. p

World

Thousands across US march against war
United States: Anti-war demonstrators marched in a dozen US cities on Saturday to call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq and a cut-off of funding by Congress. p
Prodi defiant despite Senate vote defeats
Italy: At the end of a difficult week which saw his government defeated on seven motions in one day, Italian prime minister Romano Prodi has defiantly vowed to remain at his post. p
Dispossessed Indians demand land rights
India: Two contrasting marathons concluded in India's capital New Delhi yesterday. p

Finance

Unilever warns of food price increases
Consumers goods giant Unilever has warned that it will increase the price of its food products early next year due to volatility in the international commodities markets, only months after a recent 3 per cent average price rise in its entire food range. p
Slow turnaround begins to speed up at Superquinn
Superquinn chairman Simon Burke says that if the upmarket grocery chain was doing its job properly, Irish people would have no need to shop for food in the likes of Marks & Spencer and Donnybrook Fair. p
Borrow to help firms, urges business leader
The Government must deliver on the National Development Plan (NDP) and Transport 21 to ensure growth, Small Firms' Association (SFA) director Patricia Callan said yesterday. p

Sport

Arsenal pass their first big test
SOCCER: The daylight that had gleamed between Arsenal and the chasing pack at the top of the Premier League may have been snuffed out this weekend, but the league leaders could still greet the final whistle with genuine satisfaction at their afternoon's endeavours. Arsene Wenger's young charges have made their point. p
Souness keen to manage Ireland
SOCCER: The guessing game gathers pace. Even Jack Charlton was included in the bookies' list of possible candidates to succeed Steve Staunton as Republic of Ireland manager, albeit with odds of 500 to 1. Graeme Souness, a marginally more realistic successor, meanwhile, confirmed his interest in the post yesterday. p
Cruel fate for UCD as Martin returns to have final say
SOCCER/Longford Town 1 UCD 0: If they fail to avoid relegation over the next couple of weeks then what will be a fourth FAI Cup final in seven seasons for Longford Town is likely to feel more than a little bittersweet for Longford Town. As they face into big league games between now and then, however, Alan Mathews and his men can take some pride from the way they dug in to beat UCD in yesterday's semi-final at Belfield Park to set up a meeting with Cork City at the RDS. p