A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Bad weather forces Irish team to abandon North Pole expedition
An Irish team which hoped to reach the North Pole next month has had to "reluctantly" abandon the expedition due to weather conditions, writes Kitty Holland.
Pat Falvey and Dr Clare O’Leary, who have already reached the South Pole and the summit of Everest, have been based in Iqaluit, Canada for the past fortnight preparing to set out for the North Pole. However, due to adverse weather they have not been able to complete the first leg of the journey by plane to Cape Discovery.
They are now nine days behind schedule. They would have to complete the 55-day journey hauling a sled, on foot, to the pole by April 26th to catch the last flight out by a Russian research team which has a temporary base there.
This was their second attempt to reach the North Pole. An attempt last year was abandoned as one of the party, John Dowd, developed frostbite in his fingers.
In a statement issued yesterday Mr Falvey described the last days as “very frustrating . . . Although the pilot is ready to fly, the conditions are impossible”.
Emigrants 'on loan' to Canada
Ireland is “only loaning its young people” to countries such as Canada as a result of emigration, the Canadian ambassador to Ireland, Loyola Hearn, said yesterday.
Mr Hearn said about 5,000 people were expected to emigrate from Ireland to Canada this year and previous generations of Irish “went on to build the world”.
The ambassador was addressing about 2,000 people in Waterford city for a commemoration to mark the raising of the Tricolour by Young Irelander Thomas Francis Meagher in the city more than 160 years ago.
The Tricolour flag was first raised by Waterford-man Meagher at the Wolfe Tone Confederate Club in the city on March 7th, 1848.
It was presented in Dublin a month later and would go on to become the national flag.
The Mayor of Waterford city, Cllr Mary Roche, and Charles Gautier, who is the mayor of Waterford’s twin town, St Herblain in France, also addressed the gathering.
Census form'biased in favour of religion'
People who do not practise any religion have been asked to tick the appropriate “No Religion” or “None” boxes in forthcoming censuses on both parts of this island.
It is also claimed that the religion question in the Republic’s census form is “outrageously biased in favour of religion”.
The census in Northern Ireland takes place on Sunday, March 27th and in the Republic on Sunday, April 10th next.
The Humanist Association of Ireland and its Northern Ireland counterpart, have urged people of no religion to tick appropriate boxes on census forms in both jurisdictions.