Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony today called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs to reduce expenditure on Irish embassies and consulates worldwide. O’Mahony’s call was prompted by figures released by the Department of Foreign Affairs, at Mr. O’Mahony’s request, which show that the state has spent €180m on the administration of Ireland's embassies and consulates abroad in the last three years.
The hype leading up to the launch of Apple's new iPad was, even if exciting for a few of Apple's most die-hard fans, alarming to the more reflexive among us.
Apple does have an irrefutable history of launching industry-changing products, starting with the Apple II in 1977, and featuring most importantly, not the iPad or the iPhone or the iPod, but the Macintosh in 1984. This was and still is the only one (apart from possibly the Apple II) that can seriously be called a "tool" because, unlike all the others, you can use it to create as well as consume content.
On Monday 18 January, Human rights group Action for Ireland (AFRI) held a conference calling for an independent enquiry into the Corrib gas project in Mayo. Afri are concerned about the human rights, environmental and economic dimensions of the controversial project. The group also expressed concern at the actions of Gardai in the area.
On Saturday, the Permanent People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka convened in Dublin to deliver the findings of their investigation into the actions of the government and armed forces of Sri Lanka during the war in Sri Lanka and its aftermath. The tribunal’s verdict, delivered amidst tight security, is a damning indictment of the actions of the Sri Lankan government, and also of the culpability of the international community. The tribunal’s findings also highlighted the appalling treatment of the press in Sri Lanka.
What keeps Pakistan afloat? How—despite its seemingly precarious political existence and the gloom and doom spread by the highly politicised media, as well as the horrendous bomb blasts—does the country manage to survive?
United Nations agencies are working around the clock to provide urgently needed assistance to the victims of the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti on Tuesday, which is estimated to have affected one third of the Caribbean nation’s nine million people – a population that was already one of the most vulnerable in the world.
No official figures are available yet on the dead or injured, but the 7.0 magnitude quake has devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince, wrecking buildings and leaving basic services on the brink of collapse.
HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
It is now dawn in Caribbean Island nation of Haiti which was struck yesterday by the strongest earthquake there in more than 200 years. At approximately 5.30pm, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck near the Island’s capital Port Au Prince, followed by multiple aftershocks. Additional aftershocks today remain a possibility.
(Picture: Aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti provided through Twitter by @DefYuri)
Guest profiles for Tonight with Vincent Browne, Jan 12th 2010
Leo Varadkar was elected to the Dail in 2007 and appointed as Fine Gael Front Bench Spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. He took the second seat in the three-seat Dublin West constituency, gaining a seat for Fine Gael at the expense of the Socialist Party. It was the first time he contested a General Election. Fine Gael’s vote in the Dublin West constituency increased by 8 per cent to 20 per cent, the party’s highest share of the vote since 1989.
A cabinet committee set up to investigate the use of Shannon airport by the US military for flights engaged in 'extraordinary rendition' has met only twice since its establishment, says Amnesty International. By Deirdra O'Regan.