Aside from meeting Ireland’s leaders and receiving an honorary degree from UCD, the state visit by President José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste last Monday 8 March provided a special opportunity to thank the Irish people for their contributions to the country’s burgeoning democracy.
The Government’s plan to promote the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion was the focus at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs.
The announcement of a recruitment drive for Irish volunteers to respond to international emergencies is to be greatly welcomed.
With growing numbers of civilians being killed and maimed, it is certain that the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan has taken a dangerous turn. Last weekend alone, 12 civilians lost their lives when two Nato rockets aimed at insurgents missed their target during an offensive in Helmand province.
Following last week's publication of the report on the Catholic Church and the Irish State’s handling of both allegations and suspicions of clerical child abuse in Dublin, some corners are calling to extend the inquiry to other dioceses across the country.
Opening a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 countries in St Andrews, Scotland last Saturday, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown advocated a new beginning for the people of the world, where there will be a “just distribution of risks and rewards”.
Thousands of people are expected to protest across the country tomorrow in support of the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s (Ictu) day of protest, which has been called to prevent the Government from making further cuts to public service wages, pensions and other entitlements.
When the funeral arrangements for Boyzone singer Stephen Gately were announced last week, many people wondered what sort of reception the Catholic Church would give the openly gay star. But at the service last Saturday, the church shocked everyone when it publicly recognised his sexuality and marriage.
Last weekend, Bolivian President Evo Morales took a bold step and intervened in defence of hundreds of thousands of illegal Latin American immigrants in Spain.
On Monday 13 September Dublin City Council will launch a new public bicycle scheme for the city. The initiative is aimed, among other things, at reducing traffic congestion and promoting greener living – pressing problems in the city.
Responding to the Commission on Taxation report released last week, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Arthur Morgan TD said the report is deeply flawed.
On Friday 2 October, Ireland will hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Ahead of the voting, campaigners on both sides are gearing up to make their voices heard by the public.
The first ever Belfast Culture Night will take place on Friday 25 September. The city’s Cathedral Quarter will be totally transformed as public areas and streets are turned into performance spaces offering free shows, events, talks and tours throughout the evening.
Last week Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi – who was jailed for life for his role in the deaths of 270 people when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 – was freed from prison and sent home by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on humanitarian grounds.
The high rate of Irish economic decline since the financial crisis began has continued this week with an increase in the number of jobs being axed in all sectors, according to the CSO. But the Government says it’s doing all it can to find strong measures to counter these losses.
The Cambodian government’s cancellation of a beauty pageant featuring landmine victims has come as a surprise to many.
Last week Garda authorities renewed their call on the public to help solve the murder of a Malawian national whose badly decomposed body was discovered in Kilkenny five years ago.
In times of trouble, most people move to the back of the crowd. ‘Not me,’ they’ll say, ‘it’a nothing to do with me.’ When An Bord Snip Nua released its cost-cutting package last week, almost every spectrum of society said ‘not me’. It’s a human reaction.