The Irish Times, Irish News Online, International, Sports & Business News

Wayne O'Donoghue reading a statement yesterday after leaving Midlands Prison, with solicitor Frank Buttimer (left) and his father Ray O'Donoghue after serving three years for the manslaughter of Robert Holohan.

Photograph: Alan Betson

Paisley to step down as MP at next election
DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley will retire as a Westminster MP at the British general election now widely expected in the summer of next year, The Irish Times has learned.
Jury takes 21 minutes to find Gibbs not guilty of murder
It took the Central Criminal Court jury just 21 minutes to decide that Dr Lynn Gibbs was not guilty by
reason of insanity for the murder of her 16-year-old daughter Ciara at Killure, Co Kilkenny, on November 25th, 2006.
French ambassador's house for sale - at asking price €60m
You have to admire the style of the French. The property boom is well and truly over and, voila!, they put their embassy residence on the market - for a staggering €60 million.

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Ireland

O'Donoghue apologises to victim's parents
Wayne O'Donoghue yesterday apologised to Mark and Majella Holohan for causing the death of their son, Robert, as he was released from prison after serving three years for the manslaughter of the 11-year-old schoolboy. p
Fine Gael to lodge complaint on Ahern's tax status
The Fine Gael front bench has decided to lodge a formal complaint with the Standards in Public Office Commission about the Taoiseach's level of tax compliance, following the recent disclosure that he does not currently have a tax clearance certificate. p
Top drug dealer held after heroin seized
One of Dublin's most significant drugs traffickers was being questioned by gardaí last night after he was arrested trying to flee the scene of a €7 million heroin seizure. p
Facebook considering adding Ireland as a friend
Facebook, the rapidly growing social networking website, is considering Ireland as the location for its European hub. Executives from the company have met providers of business and technology services in Ireland in recent weeks. p
Suicide prevention funds halved
The national office responsible for tackling suicide will receive just half the funding it needs to implement a suicide prevention strategy which the Government has described as an "urgent priority". p
Ex-minister did not report claim that councillors were bribed
Former minister for the environment Michael Smith said that although a Dublin councillor told him "money was changing hands" in relation to planning decisions in 1993, he did not report the matter to a Garda investigation which he himself had established. p
Taoiseach pledges Ireland will continue to give aid to Tanzania
Ireland, which is giving €170 million in overseas aid to Tanzania over the next three years, will continue to help the east African country "in whatever way it can", Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday. p
Nursing unions in 'last chance' return to Labour Court over pay
Unions representing tens of thousands of nurses have said they will take their main claims for pay increases back to the Labour Court in a final push for a negotiated solution to the long-running dispute. p
Cardinal Brady tells of hope for peace after visit to Holy Land
On a miserable wet Roman night, Cardinal Seán Brady yesterday "took possession" of the Church of Saints Quiricus and Julitta in Rome, the titular church assigned to him when he was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI two months ago. p
POLE POSITION: electrical obstacles fail to halt building of school
The people behind Co Wicklow's newest secondary school are so keen to have the facility up and running that they are loath to let a little thing like a couple of ESB poles get in the way. p
Daughter of murdered woman says she feared her father
The daughter of a man accused of murdering his wife was scared of her father, a jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard. p

Finance

Payzone chiefs get order to halt dismissals
Payzone chief executive John Nagle and chief financial officer John Williamson secured injunctions in the High Court in Dublin yesterday preventing the recently formed electronic payments group from dismissing them from their posts. p
18% drop in cider sales leaves C&C reeling
The troubles of cider makers C&C spilled over from summer into the winter market, with a 30 per cent fall in sales of Magners, prompting a slide in its share price early yesterday. p
Multimillion deal as Curley's sells two outlets to Sainsbury's
Northern Ireland's largest independent supermarket Curley's has sold its two flagship stores in a multimillion pound deal with Sainsbury's. p

World

Romney win in Michigan leaves race wide open
US: Mitt Romney's victory over John McCain in Michigan's Republican primary has made the party's race for the presidency more unpredictable than ever ahead of South Carolina's crucial vote on Saturday. p
Bomb kills 26 on bus as truce ends in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: A roadside bomb ripped through a Sri Lankan bus, killing 26 people and wounding dozens yesterday, officials said, as a six-year ceasefire between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels officially expired. p
'Atonement' leads field in Bafta award nominations
Britain: The film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement led the field when the film nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards were announced in London yesterday. p

Sport

Flannery clear to face Wasps
Rugby/ European Cup : Not surprisingly, the full extent of the fall-out from the sometimes X-rated Clermont Auvergne-Munster game last Sunday will not be resolved until next week. p
Keegan back on Tyneside
Soccer: Newcastle United announced Kevin Keegan's second coming as manager last night, a move so unexpected that it simultaneously captured Geordie imaginations and succeeded in taking the football world by surprise. p
Harrington's not sitting on his laurels
Despite being the current custodian of the Claret Jug, Pádraig Harrington's obsession to work harder than anyone else - and, also, to continue to prove himself - knows no end. p