Every three months, on average, someone dies in a police station or prison. The deaths are seldom natural, often violent and sometimes without a satisfactory explanation. Gene Kerrigan reports.

What the Mallon bugging row reveals is the fragility of the Southern State.

THE PRESIDENT came back from Moscow on Wednesday February 15. He flew from Moscow to Amsterdam by KLM jet. That's 568 roubles, and that's £630 on the offiicial exchange rate. He flew from Amsterdam to Dublin by Aer Lingus, Boeing 737, St Eunan. That's £164. Total £794.

In a matter of weeks, the latest Apple computer will become availlable here in Ireland. The Apple Macinntosh is a computing stable mate of the Apple Lisa using integrated softtware architecture. In simple terms, this means that the hardware and software development proceeded together to produce a machine which really was user-friendly and certainly did meet the exact requirements of the micro user.

LAST MAY This REPORter was shown a map by a man who lives in the valley between Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel, The man detailed the number of deaths along the river valley by sudden heart attacks. He then pointed to an area in the hills above the valley and listed the names of those who had died from cancer since the Merck Sharp and Dohme facctory opened in Ballydine between Carrick and Clonmel. The incidence of cancer and sudden heart attacks seemed to this reporter to be incredibly high for such a short period. By Colm Toibin

AT A RECENT PRESS CONference to announce the settting up of the Whittaker Commission into the Penal Services, Michael Noonan refused to answer a question about what he is doing to treat prisoners in Mountjoy who are drug addicts. At the moment there is no treatment. for prisoners who are drug: addicts. Heroin is also availlable in the prison, as it has' been for some time.

The Politics Of The Dolly Mixture

ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE Forum and all roads lead the refrom. It is the filter that will refine everything that nationalist politicians have been doing and saying for the past fifteen years. And at the SDLP Conference in Belfast last weekend, speakers exxpressed their gratitude to Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour for joining them in the Forum, for spending time and energy in the search for peace and reconciliation among nationalists and mayybe, eventually, among all men and women in this country.

THE EXPULSION OF THREE SOVIET DIPLOMATS LAST September resulted from espionage activities involving NATO nuclear Submarines, according to a US State Department report. The Irish government has consistently refused to give the reasons for the expulsions and a government source was this week unable to say why the State Department should apparently have inside information on the incident.

The application of computers as means of performing banking transactions made considerable progress last month when three of the four main banks linked their automatic teller machines (ATMs) to a central network. The new system affords users of Bank of Ireland's P ASS machines, Ulster Bank's Service-tills, and Northern Bank's Autobank, the convenience of using the ATMs of all three banks, although they may have an account with just one.

It's some years since I got onto the Readers Digest's hit list. About 1978, maybe. They sent me a letter saying I had been specially chosen, by computer, because of my fine intellect, social sophistication, personal charm and all round gee whizz goodness, to participate in a fun experiment they were organising. Love that kind of flattery, except that at least three-quarters of the people I know received similar letters, and a good two-thirds of them are well-known hairbags and dog breaths (Mick Belker is a juicy little guy, isn't he?).