A number of ambassadorial appointments have been announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
Mr James Sharkey, Ambassador to Russia, is to be permanent representative to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, replacing Mr Justin Harman, who is to be Ambassador to Russia and to Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzian, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Mr Antóin Mac Unfraidh, head of the EU Monitor Mission in Sarajevo, is to be Ambassador to Finland; Mr Joseph Lynch, Ambassador to Nigeria, is moving to Switzerland, with responsibility for Algeria and Liechtenstein; Mr Liam Canniffe, adviser to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, is to be Ambassador to Nigeria and Ghana.
Two in court over Limerick shooting
Two men appeared before a special sitting of Limerick District Court yesterday charged in connection with a weekend shooting.
Mr John O'Callaghan, (23), Moyross, and Mr Stephen Casey, (18), Caher- conlish, Co Limerick, are charged with possession of a single barrel sawn off shot gun in Cliodhna Park, Moyross, on May 3rd.
Judge Tom O'Donnell remanded both men in custody with consent to bail on their own bond of €90 and an independent surety of €1,500. They are due back before Limerick District Court on Thursday.
Mountaineer taken ill on Everest
A member of an Irish team attempting to climb Everest is recovering in hospital in Kathmandu after being dramatically rescued from the mountain when he fell ill, writes Paul Cullen.
Mr George Shorten suffered double vision and fainted three times as he negotiated treacherous crevasse crossings on the glacier leading down to base camp on Everest.
Guided by the expedition leader, Corkman Mr Pat Falvey, an exhausted Mr Shorten made it into the clinic at base camp on Friday. He was diagnosed with cerebral oedema, a life-threatening condition induced by high altitude.
Mr Shorten was evacuated by helicopter to the Nepalese capital on Saturday, where he is being treated at the international clinic. Friends say he is stable and is expected to recover well.
Meeting over school closure
Parents and community members in Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny, are to meet tonight to decide on a plan of action at the planned closure of the local secondary school, writes Kathryn Holmquist.
The 129-pupil St Brigid's School is to be phased out by the Department of Education and Science over the next two years.
The major capital investment which the school would require to remain open cannot be justified, the Minister, Mr Dempsey, said in a letter to the school's board of management.
The local community has failed in its bid for a change of status to a VEC-run school and for an amendment of the catchment boundary.