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

James Nash (left) from Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, is one of the last passengers to check in at Shannon yesterday for Aer Lingus flight EI382 to London Heathrow, the airline's final flight on the route.

Photograph: Don Moloney/Press 22

Kenny and Gilmore demand resignation of Ahern
The two main Opposition leaders have demanded the resignation of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in an extraordinary two-pronged attack on the credibility of his evidence to the planning tribunal.
Plan revived to detain some asylum seekers
The Government has revived plans to hold selected asylum seekers in detention centres while their applications are fast-tracked.
Hospitals fail to collect €400m in patient fees
Hospitals have failed to collect almost €400 million in patient charges over the past three years, new figures show.

In Focus

Head2Head
Do we need more detailed food labelling?
Business poll
Will Hibernian pay a price for offshoring some of its customer service operations?
Education
Full education coverage

World

Bush criticises Iran's role as terror sponsor
Middle East: US president George Bush has ratcheted up his rhetoric over Iran, lambasting it as "the world's leading sponsor of state terror", and urging America's closest Arab allies to confront it "before it is too late". p
Comeback kid McCain now drawing the crowds
United States: As the queue snaked around Clawson High School and along an adjoining football pitch, it was hard to believe that the rally inside was for a Republican presidential candidate rather than for one of the Democratic superstars in the race. p
Democracy activists protest in Hong Kong
China: Thousands of democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong yesterday to protest against Beijing's decision not to allow direct elections in the former Crown colony until 2017. p
Blair EU presidency opposed
EU: The head of France's opposition Socialist party yesterday rejected the idea that former British prime minister Tony Blair could become the first president of the European Union. p

Ireland

Poll on children may be delayed to 2009
The Government's planned referendum on children may be delayed until next year as a growing consensus emerges that it should not be held on the same day as the Lisbon Treaty poll. p
Integrated ticketing costs soar to €50m
The Department of Transport has defended the estimated €50 million cost and the timeframe of the delay-plagued integrated ticketing scheme for public transport, blaming complex technical issues. p
Armagh's role as a centre of history and influence laid bare
Strong associations with St Patrick are part of a rich and complex tale, writes Eileen Battersby p
New Red Cow layout today
The first real test of the new layout at the Red Cow roundabout in Dublin will come this morning at rush hour. p
Inefficient hospitals' budgets cut by €10m
Some 16 hospitals across the State are to have their budgets cut by over €10 million this year for inefficiencies. p
Three die in weekend road traffic collisions
Two young people, one a teenager, have died in crashes in Meath and Limerick at the weekend. In Northern Ireland, an elderly man was killed on Friday night in Derry. p
Armed gang steal €10,000 in raid on greyhound track
Gardaí are searching for an armed and masked gang who held up staff at a greyhound track in Co Kildare in front of schoolchildren. p
Poet and author John O'Donohue laid to rest
"Never in my life have I been so sad and broken," Pat O'Donohue told the congregation at the end of his brother John's funeral Mass in St Patrick's Church, Fanore, Co Clare on Saturday. p
Inquiry into Belfast 'walk of shame'
The PSNI has appealed for public assistance in establishing the full circumstances behind an incident in which two young men were forced to make the so-called "walk of shame" along the loyalist Shankill Road in Belfast. p

Finance

Sharp fall in building activity - survey
A monthly barometer of the construction industry shows that the sector contracted sharply in December with records falls in activity, new orders and employment. p
Ernst & Young entrepreneur programme begins
Nominations are now being sought throughout Ireland for finalists to participate in the 2008 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year programme. http://www.eoy.ie/ p
Third-level research 'has limited effect' on business innovation
Ireland's policy to promote innovation through interaction between businesses and third-level institutes is having a disappointingly limited effect, according to a study carried out by two economists from University College Cork (UCC). p

Sport

Munster defy odds to snaffle bonus
Clermont Auvergne 26 Munster 19: As defeats go, not the worst. Munster not only got out of jail yesterday but somehow emerged from the furnace that was the Parc des Sports Michelin with a bonus point. They spent large tranches of this game on the back foot, seeking to repel a potent, fired-up Clermont side intent on inflicting the utmost damage, and many a side would have buckled, but Munster dug into their bottomless well of spirit to earn a point that leaves them just about with their heads highest above water in the shark-infested Pool Five. p
Richardson gives Keane some hope
SOCCER/Sunderland 2 Portsmouth 0: Perhaps this was an omen. Harry Redknapp ventured within 15 miles of Tyneside, and his team fell apart. Keep away, Harry, keep well away. p
Resilient Chelsea sticking to their task
Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0: Tottenham are not unfamiliar with slinking away from Stamford Bridge beaten and bowed and the search for positives has often taken in straws and clutching. Yet in the aftermath of Saturday's reverse there was a silver lining in Ledley King's continued progress towards form and fitness. p