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Martin McDonagh celebrates his record libel award after he had successfully sued the Sunday World for defamation. The newspaper had alleged that he was a 'Traveller drug king' and a loan shark.
Photograph: Garrett White/Collins
Election will not be fair due to Putin bias, warns observer
A DELEGATION from the Council of Europe, the only major European democracy watchdog that will monitor Sunday's presidential election in Russia, has said it fears the poll will not be fair because the campaign is slanted in favour of President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev.ISTC investors to lose €820m in largest Irish corporate cash loss
INVESTORS AND banks will be forced to write off €820 million in the Dublin specialist lender International Securities Trading Corporation (ISTC), making it the largest cash loss in Irish corporate history, under a proposed rescue plan.Family 'will never know' if attack on Pole racially driven
THE FAMILY of one of the Polish men who died after being stabbed with a screwdriver last weekend have said they will never be sure if the fatal attack was racially motivated.
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Ireland
Greens surprised at Ahern's 2012 indication
TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern's indication that he wants to stay in office until 2012 has caused surprise in the Green Party, which believed up to now that Mr Ahern intended to hand over the reins of power earlier. pKenny tops RTÉ earners at €849,000
PAT KENNY continues to be RTÉ's highest-paid presenter,
with the latest figures showing that he earned €849,139 in
2006. pPharmacists urged to dispense despite pricing row
IRISH PHARMACY Union president Michael Guckian has called on pharmacists to continue dispensing medicines to patients on Saturday, despite the row over the planned introduction of a controversial new payment system by the Health Service Executive (HSE) at the weekend. pJudge warns Kearney jury not to draw any early conclusions
THE JURY hearing the trial of Brian Kearney, who is charged with
murdering his wife Siobhán, has been sent home for the weekend
with a warning not to draw any early conclusions about what went on
in the family's home two years ago. pLisbon Treaty poses 'no threat' to Irish neutrality
IRELAND'S MILITARY neutrality will not be affected by the passage of the Lisbon Treaty, Swedish European commissioner Margot Wallstrom has said. pAdjournment to allow study of St Luke's documents
MAHON TRIBUNAL: HEARINGS AT the Mahon tribunal were adjourned yesterday to allow the tribunal time to study documents provided by the Taoiseach's constituency office on Wednesday and to give the constituency time to produce "crucial" information. pWexford Opera House set for July completion
THE BUILDING would set new standards for theatre design and,
specifically for opera house design in Ireland, the Minister for
Arts, Sport and Tourism Séamus Brennan said yesterday as he
performed the topping out ceremony for the Wexford Opera House. pRecord €900,000 award in drugs libel case
A HIGH Court jury has made the biggest ever award of damages for libel here - €900,000 - in a case in which a man sued the Sunday World over an article describing him as a "Traveller drug king". pHolocaust denier Irving to take part in free speech debate
CONTROVERSIAL right-wing historian David Irving has been invited to participate in a debate on free speech at University College Cork (UCC) next month, nine years after he was forced to cancel a lecture there because of protests. pKillings 'hooliganism at its worst', says Ahern
THE KILLINGS of two Polish men was condemned as an example of "hooliganism at its worst" by Bertie Ahern, speaking during a one-day official visit to Poland yesterday. pShift of power from Paisley will not affect North accord, says Ahern
NORTHERN IRELAND will survive the passing of Dr Ian Paisley from power, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said yesterday. But he expressed the hope that Dr Paisley would stay on as the North's First Minister. pOne in six babies born to cohabiting couples
ALMOST ONE in six babies born in the second quarter of last year were to cohabiting couples, according to the Central Statistics Office (CS0), which has released such a breakdown for the first time. p
Finance
Bord Gáis to invest €750m in electricity sector
STATE COMPANY Bord Gáis plans to invest up to €750 million in expanding its operations into electricity generation and renewable energy. The company, which operates the State's natural gas network and supplies more than 500,000 homes with the fuel, intends moving into the electricity market with the construction of a number of generating plants. pO2 deal with Apple for iPhone overshadows good results
MOBILE OPERATOR O2 Ireland's announcement that it has signed an
exclusive deal for Apple's iPhone overshadowed details of
fourth-quarter results yesterday, writes
John Collins . p
Sport
Keane has not shut the door on Miller
SOCCER: Liam Miller is said to have been
surprised when he was called in to be dressed down for his poor
timekeeping earlier this week and shocked when the issue prompted
his manager, Roy Keane, to put him on the Sunderland transfer
list. pReal Deal all ears on Tyson bout
BOXING: Evander Holyfield, who publishes his
biography next week, talks about his trials and triumphs p
World
McCain in new attack on Obama over Iraq policies
US: JOHN McCAIN has stepped up his criticism of
Barack Obama's Iraq policy, describing the Democrat's approach as
"not logical" in a dispute that could prefigure the general
election campaign if the two men win their parties' nominations,
writes
Denis Staunton in Cleveland, Ohio p
