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Flavin Mare (6) and his twin sisters Diana and Nicola Mare, aged 4, from Romania, at the Festival of Peoples Mass of the Epiphany in Saint Mary's Pro Cathedral, Dublin, last night.

Taoiseach launches forceful attack on tribunal
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has launched his strongest attack to date on the Mahon tribunal, alleging it has not given him a fair hearing during its investigations into his private finances.
'Underdog' Clinton goes on the attack against Obama
The snow-banked roads around Nashua North High School were jammed as a 300-metre queue of warmly-dressed people snaked around the building, waiting to hear Hillary Clinton make her case in advance of tomorrow's New Hampshire primary.
Litter survey dishes up the dirt on Sligo town
Sligo is the dirtiest town in Ireland, a new survey has concluded. It ranked as the worst litter black spot in 2007 in a survey of 50 towns and cities carried out by An Taisce for the lobby group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL).

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Ireland

Man shot dead in Sligo had 'a lot of enemies'
Gardaí were yesterday studying a list of potential suspects for the murder of a 39-year-old man in Sligo town early on Saturday. p
Leas Cross inquiry contacted by 25 parties
An investigation into the running of the Leas Cross nursing home has received 25 submissions from relatives of former residents at the home. p
Tributes paid at funeral of chess player
The funeral of 19-year-old chess champion Philip Hogarty, who died just hours into the new year when he was struck by a Garda car, was held at a packed St Thomas's Church in Jobstown, Dublin, on Saturday. p
Irish team set to reach South Pole tomorrow after tough 1,100km trek
Irish adventurers Pat Falvey, Dr Clare O'Leary and colleagues aim to reach the South Pole tomorrow at the end of their arduous 1,100km trek across Antarctica. p
Vandals cause up to €65,000 damage to TCD rowing boats
Vandals caused up to €65,000 worth of damage to Trinity College Dublin rowing club boats, which were parked overnight at Villierstown, Co Waterford, early on Sunday. p
Search continues for missing Irish teenager
Spanish police and volunteers continued their search yesterday for an Irish teenager who has been missing on the Costa del Sol since January 1st. p
Dismantling the language barrier with home-made manuals
As teachers grapple with the problem of pupils who speak little English, school may have a model solution, writes Ruadhán MacCormaic . p
More than 26,000 on occupational therapy waiting lists
More than 26,000 people are on waiting lists to see occupational therapists, according to new figures from the Health Service Executive. p

World

Aid bodies warn of looming crisis in Kenya
KENYA: Aid agencies warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Kenya yesterday as the first trucks carrying emergency supplies of food left the port of Mombasa bound for the Rift Valley, writes Rob Crilly , Kericho Town, Rift Valley. p
Unrest follows Georgian election
GEORGIA: Thousands of Georgians protested yesterday after President Mikhail Saakashvili was awarded victory in an election which western observers said was broadly fair, but which Russia denounced as a sham. p
Year-long deadlock in Lebanon may be broken by Arab League
LEBANON: In a last-ditch effort to end the political crisis in Lebanon, Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa is set to arrive in Beirut today armed with an Arab plan to break the deadlock that has paralysed the country's government for 13 months, writes Michael Jansen . p
Church requests prayer for abused
ITALY: Senior Vatican figure, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes has called for special prayer sessions worldwide for the victims of clerical sex abuse, writes Paddy Agnew in Rome. p
Obama closes on New Hampshire prize
US Election: With new polls showing a surge in support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, former frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are fighting for survival in tomorrow's New Hampshire primaries, writes Denis Staunton , in New Hampshire. p

Finance

Building slowdown to hit councils
The building slowdown threatens to hit a key source of local government funding that was worth almost €700 million to the Republic's city and county councils in 2006, writes Barry O'Halloran . p
Sony enjoys the happier Christmas
Sony's Playstation dominated Christmas computer game sales, according to industry game charts, despite its struggles in the ongoing global "console war" with nintendo's Wii console and Microsoft's Xbox360, writes Cian Ginty . p
Bid to expand NI trade with Dutch
A push to expand trade between the Netherlands and Northern Ireland will get under way this week when the Dutch foreign trade minister and leading Dutch industrialists arrive in the region, writes Isabel Conway in Amsterdam. p

Sport

Riise administers safety net for Luton
Soccer/Luton Town 1 Liverpool 1: Administration hangs heavily over Luton Town, yet this was an occasion to allow those racked with worry to forget. For a while yesterday this crammed arena shook in deafening celebration just as it had in the giddy top-flight days of the late 1980s when Luton terrorised loftier opponents on their plastic pitch. p
Longford rain on McGeeney's parade
GAA/Longford 0-9 Kildare 0-7: In a classic example of early-season scrambling football, Luke Dempsey's Division Three Longford side just about deserved to win their opening tie against Kieran McGeeney's Kildare at an overcast Newbridge yesterday. p