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Munster MEP Kathy Sinott is joined in protest in Brussels yesterday by Eurosceptic MEPs, clockwise from top left: Gerald Batten, Geoffrey Bloom, Mike Natrass, Geoffrey Titford (all members of the UK Independence Party), and Bas Belder of Hollands ChristenUnie-SGP.

Photograph: Reuters

EU leaders set to push ahead with ratification of treaty
EUROPEAN LEADERS are expected to commit to pushing ahead with ratifying the Lisbon Treaty at an EU summit today, giving the Government a few months to consider its options over Ireland's No vote.
South Africa puts pressure on Mugabe over pre-poll terror tactics
SOUTH AFRICAN president Thabo Mbeki met Robert Mugabe yesterday amid growing signs of international impatience with the Zimbabwean leader over violence against his opponents.
Women working 39 minutes longer each day than men
WOMEN ARE joining the workforce in unprecedented numbers, but that does not mean they are escaping work in the home.

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Ireland

Republic's grocery shoppers pay 30% more than North
SHOPPERS IN the Republic are being asked to pay over 30 per cent more for groceries than consumers in the North, a survey by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) has revealed. p
Ireland behind in meeting Kyoto targets
THE LATEST report on greenhouse emissions in the European Union shows that Ireland is in the bottom half of the table of the 27 states in terms of meeting its Kyoto targets. p
Developer denies FF TD Mulcahy asked for £50,000
MAHON TRIBUNAL: CORK DEVELOPER Owen O’Callaghan has denied that Fianna Fáil TD Michael Mulcahy ever asked him for £50,000. At his first appearance at the Mahon tribunal since 2004, Mr O’Callaghan said the idea was ridiculous. p
Niece and nephew of Gordon Lambert contest will
A NIECE and nephew of the late art collector Gordon Lambert have brought a High Court challenge to his will which left his extensive collection in trust to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma). p
Control of Christian Brothers schools handed over to trust
THE END of two centuries of Christian Brothers schools has been marked by the formal handing over of control of its 96 schools in the Republic to a charitable trust run by lay people. p
UN apologises for criticising troops
MINISTER FOR Defence Willie O’Dea has moved to avert a rift between Irish troops in Chad and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), saying he has accepted an apology over controversial remarks made by the agency about the Defence Forces mission. p
Plaque unveiled to honour Dunnes action
ONE OF Ireland's most bitter, long-running and unusual strikes has also become one of the first to be marked with a commemorative plaque. p
Country following flawed economic model, says Cori
ALMOST 700,000 people still live in poverty despite more than a decade of prosperity and economic growth, a conference will hear today. p

World

Obama campaign apologises over hijab incident
US: BARACK OBAMA's campaign has apologised to two Muslim women who were told they could not sit directly behind the candidate at a rally in Detroit this week because they were wearing headscarves. p
Chinese try to shore up dams as flooding adds to woes after quake
CHINA: RESCUERS ARE scrambling to shore up dams in southern China after heavy rain flooded 23,000sq kilometres (8,880sq miles) of land, causing billions of euros in damage and threatening the manufacturing base of Guangdong. p
Cyd Charisse, 'beautiful dynamite', dies
US: CYD CHARISSE, an actress and dancer whose mile-long legs made her a memorable partner with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in several top musicals of the 1950s, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles after an apparent heart attack. She was 86. p
Vote Mugabe or die is Zanu message
ZIMBABWE: Chris McGreal reports from Rusape in the centre of the country, where violence and intimidation are increasing ahead of the run-off elections p

Finance

Dublin docklands authority sees surplus cut by 91%
FEWER SALES of development assets and higher regeneration costs resulted in the Dublin Docklands Development Authority's surplus being slashed by 91 per cent to €3.7 million in 2007. p
Heavy fall in Irish banking stocks over capital fears
IRISH BANKING stocks came under pressure in Dublin trading yesterday on concerns about new capital requirements in a report from a US stockbroker and investment bank. p
'Rogue' hits Morgan Stanley for $120m
MORGAN STANLEY has become the latest financial group to be hit by the actions of a suspected rogue trader after revealing that a London-based credit derivatives trader had incorrectly valued his positions, forcing the company to take a $120 million revenue hit. p
Irish group buys Manhattan properties in $54m deal
IRISH INVESTMENT group Warren Private Clients (WPC) has availed of the slippage in the US property market and the favourable currency environment to buy two prime property investments in Manhattan for $54 million (€38 million). Both are in the exclusive SoHo submarket. p

Sport

Injury rules Woods out for rest of the year
GOLF: TIGER WOODS, who won a famous US Open victory at Torrey Pines this week despite carrying a knee injury, will not play again this year. The world number one has confirmed the worst fears of those who said he risked more serious injury to his left knee by coming back too early from surgery and has cast doubt on his golfing future. p
McGahan is handed the task of leading Munster forward
RUGBY: TONY McGAHAN yesterday continued the successful relationship Munster have cultivated with Australian coaches over the years. The Munster backs coach for the past three seasons became the second Aussie to take over from Declan Kidney after Alan Gaffney also took over from Kidney in 2002. p