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President Mary McAleese being applauded by Church of Ireland bishops Dr Harold Miller, Dr Michael Burrows and Dr John Neill, Archbishop of Dublin, at the Church of Ireland Synod in Galway yesterday.

Photograph: Joe OShaughnessy.

HSE wants 1,000 office jobs to go in €30m scheme
THE HEALTH Service Executive has proposed to the Government that 200 senior managerial and 800 lower level clerical and administrative posts should go as part of a new voluntary early retirement scheme.
Thousands remain buried as death toll mounts in China
THE DEATH toll from China's worst earthquake in 30 years has risen to almost 15,000 and many of the dead are buried beneath what remains of Hanwang town in Sichuan.
Austrian man kills five family members after investment loss
AN AUSTRIAN man who lost a six-figure sum in bad investments has admitted killing five family members with an axe to spare them the "disgrace" of financial ruin.

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Ireland

Mother 's plea as search for woman's remains ends
GARDAÍ SEARCHING for missing Co Offaly woman Fiona Pender yesterday ended an excavation of a remote site on the Laois-Offaly border without finding any trace of her remains. p
Funds to purchase St Luke's were raised at meeting of 24 businessmen
THE FUNDS to purchase St Luke’s, Bertie Ahern’s constituency office, were raised at a meeting of 24 businessmen in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin in December 1987, the tribunal heard yesterday. p
'No' vote would be 'a step into isolation' Ireland's
MINISTER FOR Finance Brian Lenihan has said that a No vote on the Lisbon Treaty would amount to a "step into isolation" for Ireland and damage the economy at a challenging economic time. p
Council to meet developer over stalled projects
DUBLIN CITY Council officials are to meet leading developer Bernard McNamara today over the fate of a number of stalled public-private partnership (PPP) projects between the two parties. p
Bobby Sands film gets first showing at Cannes
TRAFFIC GROUND to a halt and hundreds of onlookers gathered in the warm sunshine to spot the stars arriving at the opening of the 61st Festival de Cannes last night. p
Confusion reigns over Mansergh's arts brief
THE MINISTER for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Martin Cullen, will meet newly appointed Minister of State Martin Mansergh today to discuss their ministerial roles. p
Upper age limit for jury service to be abolished
THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to remove all discriminatory elements of the law governing who can serve on a jury after it announced that the upper age limit for jury service will be abolished. p
Ancient parrot species found near North Sea
IRISH-BASED researchers have discovered the oldest known parrot fossil – a wing bone from a bird that lived 55 million years ago. p

World

Cameron says Brown U-turn a bid to save his own skin
DAVID CAMERON has accused Gordon Brown of effecting his budget U-turn in a desperate attempt to save his own skin and avert a Labour defeat in next week’s Crewe and Nantwich byelection. p
Brazil's commitment to rainforest questioned as green minister resigns
BRAZIL: THE COMMITMENT of Brazil's government to protecting the Amazon rainforest was called into question on Tuesday when a prominent green activist resigned as environment minister. p
Superdelegates unconvinced by Clinton landslide
US: BARACK OBAMA has made further gains among Democratic superdelegates despite Hillary Clinton's massive victory on Tuesday in West Virginia's primary, which she won by more than two to one. p
Eta blamed for death of policeman in car-bomb attack
SPAIN: A car-bomb exploded at a police barracks in northern Spain's Basque Country early yesterday, killing one officer and wounding four others in an attack the regional government blamed on Eta Basque separatists. p

Finance

Gas price set to increase by up to 19% from October
MORE THAN half a million households could face an average increase of €13.50 a month for gas supplies if Bord Gáis gets the go-ahead for a 19 per cent increase in its price. p
Minister's plan for Oireachtas body to nominate appointees to State board
THE BROADCASTING Bill proposes a radical departure in the way in which appointments to State boards are made. p
Irish banks give 25% fewer mortgages
IRISH BANKS advanced 25 per cent fewer mortgages in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2007, according to the latest report on the mortgage market from the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. p
Gains for new entrants to health insurance
NEW ENTRANTS Quinn Healthcare and Vivas Health have gained share in the private health insurance market, but VHI is still the dominant player, insuring 70 per cent of people with cover, according to the latest study by the Health Insurance Authority (HIA). p

Sport

McGeechan to test himself again
RUGBY/LIONS TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA: THE CORONATION of the new Lion king, Ian McGeechan, may have been predictable but there is no doubt the Lions executive have made the correct decision in terms of the man to lead them on their tour to South Africa next summer. p
Zenit raise bar too high for proud Rangers
SOCCER/Zenit 2 Rangers 0: RANGERS CAME in search of a great prize but took only great pride from the City of Manchester Stadium. Zenit St Petersburg deserved to win the Uefa Cup and will value it all the more as they remember how hard they had to fight and how long they were made to wait. p