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Pope condemns violence as 'scourge of humanity'
POPE BENEDICT called in his Easter message yesterday for an end to injustice, hatred and violence around the world, including in Tibet, Iraq and Darfur. p
PSNI question man on Dungannon death
PSNI DETECTIVES were last night questioning a 21-year-old man
about what police said was a vicious assault that led to the death
of a man from Dungannon, Co Tyrone. p
Tougher bathing water rules in force this week
NEW EU bathing water regulations come into force this week which will mean a doubling of the highest water quality standards for bathing places and may mean that some of the country's beaches will be below minimum standards. The new system is twice as stringent as the basis for the Blue Flag designation. p
Other Stories
Study finds sharp fall in female sterilisations
THERE HAS been a marked decrease in the number of female sterilisation operations in the Republic, with some hospitals now rarely carrying out the procedure, new research has found. pSpecialist says patients borrowing money for cancer tests
PUBLIC PATIENTS on lengthy waiting lists for bowel cancer tests are borrowing large sums so they can be seen quickly in the private sector, a cancer specialist has said. pStudent drama festival has 24 plays
THE FUTURE of Irish drama will be showcased in Dublin this week as more than 300 third-level students gather for the annual Irish Students Drama Association festival (ISDA). pFlood of submissions as group begins analysis of power lines
MORE THAN 500 submissions have been made by members of the public in advance of a new study commissioned by the Department of Communications into whether power lines should be installed above or below ground. pNo censure for MEP's Lisbon protest
INDEPENDENT MEP Kathy Sinnott has not been penalised by the European Parliament for taking part in a protest against the Lisbon Treaty during a parliamentary session, but several of her fellow protesters have had their allowances docked as punishment. pExpert warns port site is of vast historic importance
THE SITE earmarked for a major new port in north Dublin is of huge archaeological and historic importance and may be where St Patrick first landed in Ireland, according to one of the country's most eminent archaeologists. pAnniversary ceremony: President lays wreath to mark 92 years since 1916 Easter Rising
PRESIDENT MARY McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday led
an official State ceremony to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of
the 1916 Easter Rising outside the GPO on Dublin's O'Connell
Street. pLaunch of suicide services campaign
A CAMPAIGN aimed at creating awareness of suicide bereavement services is to be launched by the Minister for Mental Health, Jimmy Devins, this week. pTeachers union warns of industrial action
THE TEACHERS' Union of Ireland has warned of industrial action by institute of technology lecturers amid growing concern about lack of funding. pGormley on course for 2009 ban on traditional light bulbs
LEGISLATION BANNING traditional light bulbs from the start of 2009 will be in place by the summer, according to Government sources. p'Patton Flyer' operator plans more unlicensed bus routes
TREVOR PATTON, the operator of the "Patton Flyer" - the unlicensed Dalkey to Dublin airport bus service - has said he has plans to open another four routes in Dublin. pA fast, cheap and popular bus service? We'd better ban it
ANALYSIS/Tim O'Brien: A new bus service between Dalkey and Dublin airport has been remarkably successful. So why did Noel Dempsey set the Garda on it? pDepartment refuses to publish Irish Aid audits
THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs has refused to release details of seven internal audit reports carried out following visits to countries supported by Irish Aid over the past two years. pStrong winds fan fire in Arklow wildlife reserve
A RAGING marsh fire in Arklow, Co Wicklow, may have killed or injured wildlife yesterday afternoon. Fanned by a gusting wind, the fire reduced acres of the marsh, which is a wildlife reserve, to scorched earth. pState paying 'lip service' to 1916, says Adams
WHILE SINN Féin welcomes the State's commemoration of the 1916 Rising, the Government is merely paying "lip service" to the Proclamation, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams told supporters in Dublin yesterday. pPublic poorly served by government office hours - FG survey
NINE OUT of 10 public offices are closed on Saturdays, many open late in the morning and close in the early evening, a quarter still close for lunch, and less than half are open to the public for the standard working week of 39 hours, according to a survey conducted by Fine Gael. pGovernment set to publish law on civil partnerships
THE GOVERNMENT will publish its legislative proposals recognising civil partnerships, including same-sex unions, by early next month, The Irish Times understands. pSinn Féin warns of DUP 'posturing'
SINN FÉIN wants to work with the DUP but will resist "belligerent" posturing from "rejectionist" elements of the party, Sinn Féin MP and Assembly member Conor Murphy said when he addressed the Easter commemoration ceremony at the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast yesterday. pBegg admits no gain from last pay deal
WORKERS MADE no gain in living standards from the current national partnership deal because pay rises were nullified by the inflation rate, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) said yesterday. pAdams rejects criticism at murdered man's funeral
SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams, at the funeral of Frank "Bap" McGreevy in west Belfast on Saturday, has rejected what he called the perverted logic of those who chose to blame Sinn Féin, and him in particular, for the murder. pDispute disrupts train services
FOURTEEN TRAIN services were cancelled over the weekend while a number of others were replaced by bus transfers due to continuing problems with rosters for train drivers. Further disruption will take place tomorrow. pMan held on charge of murdering taxi driver
A 22-YEAR-OLD man has been remanded in custody charged with the murder of an off-duty taxi driver in northwest Dublin last week. pWoman killed and man injured in road collisions
A WOMAN has died following a road collision in Co Antrim
yesterday. The crash happened close to the Larne Road
roundabout. pFG to hold public meetings on Lisbon Treaty
FINE GAEL will this week hold the first of a series of 30 national public meetings as part of its campaign for a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. pBaby emus make timely appearance
EASTER MAY have come early this year but so too did three baby
emus who were born just in time for the bank holiday festivities at
a Co Limerick visitor farm. pDangling shoes advertise drug dealers - councillor
DUBLIN CITY Council is trying to eradicate the sight of runners and football boots dangling from overhead power lines in the city, which a councillor says are being used as "advertisements" by drug dealers to mark their turf. pPolice fear Irish tourist drowned in Stockholm
POLICE IN Stockholm fear an Irish tourist missing since St
Patrick's weekend has drowned. They will carry out a third
underwater search for his body tomorrow. pHistoric house destroyed
AN HISTORIC house in Waterford city was destroyed in a fire on Saturday evening. Gardaí and four tenders from the Waterford City Fire Service attended the scene at Cathedral Square at 5.30pm, as plumes of smoke billowed onto the mall. The area was cordoned off until firefighters got the blaze under control. pBishop of Ferns apologises again for sex abuse by priests of diocese
The Bishop of Ferns, Most Rev Denis Brennan, has apologised again for clerical child sex abuse in the diocese. pHardy souls gather to celebrate dawn and resurrection
THE WIND blew, the rain fell and, instead of melting away
discreetly as normal, the hail held its ground defiantly as the
stout-hearted faithful gathered in declining night for an
ecumenical "Sonrise" service to celebrate that original Easter
rising, writes
PATSY MCGARRY Religious Affairs Correspondent, at
the Papal Cross, Phoenix Park. pArchbishop lauds debate on role of faith communities
DEBATE IN Ireland and Europe generally on the role of faith communities in society has been described as "encouraging" by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev John Neill. pWork of Mercy order marked by Tralee plaque
THE WORK of the Mercy order in the southwest was remembered yesterday at the unveiling of a plaque in Tralee on the site of the town's first Mercy Convent, a house at No 1 Day Place. pTuskar Rock air tragedy recalled
RELATIVES OF 61 people who died in Ireland's worst aviation disaster gathered yesterday at a church in Cork city for a special 40th anniversary Mass. pIn Short
A round up of today's other stories in brief... p
Media on message
BOOBIES, buzzers and bibios were much in evidence at the media fly-fishing competition at Annamoe Trout Fishery in Co Wicklow recently writes DEREK EVANS . p
New rules to protect pearl mussels
STRICT NEW requirements for the forestry sector aimed at protecting and preserving Ireland's most endangered species, the freshwater pearl mussel, have been agreed. pMan's death prompts warning to hillwalkers
Hillwalkers have been urged to undergo training and ensure that they are well-equipped before embarking on treks in mountainous areas. pTurf cutters vent anger at ban as final season on protected bogs begins
AS TURF cutting will be banned from bogs designated as special
areas of conservation (SACs) after this spring's cutting season,
many people are angry and fear that a ban on the harvesting of peat
on all bogs may soon follow. pEmotive Carlow plans for debate
CARLOW COUNTY Council will tomorrow debate plans to rezone 90 acres of the town's historic Oakpark demense for housing as part of a new local area plan for Carlow and its environs. pEU announces €64m bluetongue vaccination plan
AS BLUETONGUE disease continues to spread in Britain and Italy imposes an import ban on non-vaccinated animals from France, the EU has announced an emergency vaccination plan worth €64 million. p
