Flynn to give up Independent TD allowance
Beverley Flynn is to give up her Independent TD allowance of €41,000 a year.
Speaking on Midwest Radio in Mayo the Fianna Fáil deputy
said that she was speaking with Taoiseach Brian Cowen yesterday and will give up the allowance.
Ms Flynn said that she did not do anything wrong in claiming the money, but said that she would write to the Oireachtas to inform the houses that she would no longer claim the allowance.
She said she was deeply hurt by some of the media comments that portrayed her as being dishonest when it emerged that she was claiming the allowance.
Ms Flynn added that the allowance was used to benefit her constituents.
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Woman with rabies dies in Belfast
A woman in her 30s from Northern Ireland who contracted rabies while abroad has died in hospital.
Lisa McMurray had been in a critical condition in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital since the condition was diagnosed last month.
She had been in Africa a number of times in recent years and is thought to have contracted rabies after being bitten by an infected dog.
It is believed she may have been infected as far back as December 2006 while working in an animal sanctuary in South Africa.
She sent home emails at the time detailing how she had been scratched while separating two dogs and one of the animals had to be put down after it started foaming at the mouth.
She only began feeling unwell a few months ago and was diagnosed last month.
The death of Ms McMurray was confirmed in a statement from her family who said they were extremely proud of the bravery with which she fought her illness.
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Armed raid at Dún Laoghaire bank
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following a bank raid in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, this morning.
A man armed with a gun held up staff at the Ulster Bank on George's Street and escaped with an undisclosed sum of cash.
No shots were fired and nobody was injured during the raid.
The raid happened shortly before 11am.
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Man charged in Dublin lay-by murder
A man has appeared in court again today in connection with the death of a man who died after being attacked as his car was parked in a lay-by near Dublin Airport last year.
27-year-old Ian Daly with an address at Moatview Drive, Priorswood, Dublin 17, had previously been charged with the manslaughter of Valeri Ranert at Naul Road, Swords, near Dublin Airport on 30 April 2007.
He was also charged with assault causing harm.
But at a sitting of Swords District Court today those two charges were struck out and two new charges were entered.
Mr Daly is now charged with the of murder Mr Ranert and the unlawful seizure of a vehicle on the same date.
Mr Daly was remanded in custody to Cloverhill prison.
He is due to appear before Cloverhill District Court on Tuesday.
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Three remanded by Special Criminal Court
Three people have appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin following an ongoing Garda investigation into dissident Republican and criminal activity.
All three had been arrested in Dublin at the weekend.
66-year-old Barry Fitzpatrick of 169 Ashlawn park, Ballybrack, Dublin, was charged with membership of an unlawful organisation.
21-year-old Stephen Verhoeven of Brookfield Terrace, Blackrock, Dublin, was charged with possession of two revolvers and 20 rounds of ammunition.
22-year-old Dean Byrne of Coolevin, Ballybrack, Dublin, was charged iwth possession of five handguns and 64 rounds of ammunition.
All were remanded in custody to appear in court again next week.
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Israel to halt bombings for three hours daily
Israel will today halt bombing Gaza for three hours every day.
Bombings will be halted between 11am and 2am Irish time.
The announcement came hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza, where it has waged a deadly 12-day campaign against Hamas.
'In order to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to adopt a proposal by the security establishment to open a humanitarian corridor into the Gaza Strip to assist the population,' said a statement from his office.
'This involves opening up geographical areas for limited periods of time during which the population will be able to receive the aid and stock up.'
Israel have today pounded Hamas fighters with artillery shells and air missiles.
An air strike killed a Palestinian gunman and wounded three in Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood, where some of the heaviest fighting has occurred since Israeli troops invaded the crowded coastal strip on Saturday.
Clashes were continuing in Zeitun, and there were reports of air strikes on the southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah.
The latest fighting followed Israeli strikes yesterday on three UN-run schools that killed at least 48 people, prompting growing calls for an immediate ceasefire.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was 'deeply dismayed' by the strikes on the schools and called them 'totally unacceptable.'
Egypt's president and veteran Middle East peace mediator, Hosni Mubarak, was pushing for an immediate ceasefire.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Mr Mubarak had invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for talks on his proposal in Cairo.
'I know that there is already for tomorrow a technical group from both countries ready to work,' Mr Kouchner said. 'So we are waiting for the answer.'
After talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday, Mr Mubarak invited the Israelis and Palestinians to 'an urgent meeting to reach arrangements and guarantees that would not allow the repeat of the current escalation.'
Such guarantees would include 'securing the borders and ... opening of the border crossings and lifting the siege.'
Mr Mubarak said he was also proposing an immediate ceasefire that would allow aid to enter Gaza.
Mr Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the UN Security Council presidency, said a resolution on Gaza would 'complicate' the task of achieving peace.
Libya later submitted a new draft resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire to be respected by both parties.
A Hamas delegation was already in Cairo for talks on the crisis.
Egypt brokered a six-month truce that ended on 19 December.
Hamas refused to renew the deal, accusing Israel of reneging on it by not relaxing the crippling blockade of Gaza it first imposed when the Islamists seized control of the territory in 2007.
Mr Olmert earlier said the rocket attacks and weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza must end before Israel halts its offensive.
Last night Israel said it would set up a humanitarian corridor to counter the crisis caused by its offensive in Gaza.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said the measure was proposed by Israeli military chiefs and would entail granting periodic access to various areas to allow Palestinians to stock up on vital goods.
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