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OECD outlines challenges ahead
A LARGELY POSITIVE survey of the Irish economy by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for 2008 will provide useful reassurance for foreign investors while encouraging consumer confidence at home and identifying tough administrative and fiscal reforms for the Government. It comes in advance of a detailed examination of the public service that is likely to recommend wide-ranging reforms and increased productivity. p
Spain's equality agenda
ONE OF the most striking images of the week saw Spain's conspicuously pregnant new minister for defence, Carme Chacón, inspecting troops after her appointment last Monday. She is one of nine women ministers in prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's new cabinet, outnumbering their eight male colleagues. p
Opinion
OECD advocates wage restraint to improve competitiveness
ANALYSIS: Despite the slowdown, the OECD remains firm in its belief that the "economic fundamentals remain strong", writes Paul Tansey. pBlaming biofuels for food-price rises distorts full picture
OPINION: Brazilians argue that EU and US methods of biofuel production are far less efficient than the Brazilian method, but they are still being heavily subsidised and promoted, writes Tom Hennigan . pRobinson more colourful than his technocrat image
It's been a long journey as the bureaucrat at the big man's shoulder comes around the desk and into the spotlight, writes Fionnuala O'Connor. pUniversities join the struggle to overcome poverty in Africa
A research initiative will bring together Irish and African universities to aid development, writes Andy Pollak. pSaddened as dreams of middle America are dashed by Delta
I FLEW to New York on the day spring arrived and all along 90th Street a lovely blue flower called Pushkinia blossomed which is named for the poet who, according to Russians, cannot be translated into English, but Tchaikovsky made a gorgeous opera of Eugene Onegin, which is some consolation, and then there is the flower, writes Garrison Keillor . pArctic ice not infinite, but human stupidity is
YOU WOULDN'T expect to find robins as far north as the Arctic Circle. Neither would the Inuit, who have lived there for thousands of years. There is no word for robin in their language, Inuktitut, although this bird has now become a regular visitor to this once-frozen terrain, writes John Gibbons. pCorrections & Clarifications
An article in the edition of April 8th stated that Noel Crawford, who was shot dead in Limerick, was a member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang. Mr Crawford's family has pointed out that he was not a member of the gang and had no criminal convictions. p
An Irishman's Diary
I SAW a Hillman Avenger on the road the other day and my childhood flashed before me. That was a wilder era than now, in everything from hairstyles to drinking habits. It wasn't unusual then to see a driver taking both sides of the road on the way home from town at night. So, although it seems inappropriate looking back, a car called the Avenger was not out of place, writes Frank McNally. p
