SAOIRSE32

BreakingNews.ie

SF TD suspended from Dáil for interrupting Taoiseach

11/05/2005 - 11:38:06

Sinn Féin TD Caoimghin O Caolain has been suspended from the Dáil for repeatedly interrupting the Taoiseach during this morning’s business.

The Ceann Comhairle ordered the Cavan-Monaghan TD to leave the chamber for refusing to give Bertie Ahern proper speaking time.

Mr O Caolain had been accusing the Taoiseach of giving more priority to the concerns of those in the horse-racing and greyhound industry than to those in the disability sector.

Mr Ahern countered that the TD was trying to make political gain by deliberately confusing the issues.

“It’s just as important that we look after the needs of people with disabilities as we look after the betting industry in this State. Shame is all I can say,” said Mr O Caolain.

Mr Ahern accused Mr O Caolain of “clinging on to some hope that he can get political gain by ranting on“.

“You’re entirely dishonest in this debate,” he added.

After loud exchanges between Mr O Caolain and the Government benches, the Ceann Comhairle warned the Sinn Féin TD.

He said: “You cannot come into this House, ask a question and then frustrate any member of the Government who wishes to answer the question.

“I’ll ask you to behave yourself. Sorry Deputy, if you open your mouth once more you’ll leave the House.”

After Mr O Caolain refused to resume his seat, Mr O’Hanlon moved that he be suspended from the service of the Dáil.

A vote will be taken under Standing Order 61 before the Order of Business tomorrow morning.

Mr O Caolain had earlier claimed that the Disability Legislation Consultation Group, set up by the Government in 2001, was considering its future after its proposals on the current Disability Bill weren’t being implemented in full.

The TD claimed that the group was refused a meeting with the Taoiseach and it was now considering opposing the Bill which is currently at Committee stage.

He asked: “Will you not use the opportunity to ensure the key and critical proposals of the DLCG and the entire disability sector are taken onboard and are enshrined in legislation so that we have legislation that removes the shame of further conflict from the sector?”

He said current disability legislation has backed by multi-annual funding which had never been agreed by any previous Government.

“I don’t believe that I will ever live to see any minister in any Bill bring such recommendations forward.”

“We will try everything we can to make this legislation as perfect as possible.”

Mr O Caolain called on Mr Ahern to meet with the Disability Legislation Consultation Group and to take the world lead in the provision of disability services.

He said the current Government ring-fenced revenue raised in the horse and greyhound industry by legislation in 2001.

Belfast Telegraph

Brother ‘beaten and left for dead’
Family accuses loyalists of brutal murder

By Mary Fitzgerald
11 May 2005

The family of a former Downtown Radio producer who died following a brutal nightclub beating spoke for the first time today about their grief and horror at his murder.

Stephen Nelson (55), died in hospital in March, six months after he was attacked by a gang of men who forced their way into the foyer of the Chimney Corner Hotel nightclub near Glengormley.

It is believed individuals linked to the UDA carried out the attack.

Mr Nelson, who had organised discos at the club after leaving Downtown Radio four years ago, suffered serious head injuries and never regained consciousness.

Five people were arrested at the time, but later released without charge.

Speaking for the first time about the attack, Mr Nelson’s brother Peter told the Belfast Telegraph he believed the gang intended to leave his brother for dead after he challenged loyalist paramilitaries over drug dealing.

“They just concentrated on his head. There were very few marks on his body,” said Peter.

“Because of that I think it is very possible they intended to kill him. Thinking about it still really upsets me.

“I know that one of the theories being examined is that Stephen had worked very hard to keeps drugs out of the Chimney Corner and probably upset some people along the way as a result.

“I believe police think the people responsible are UDA members.”

Detective Inspector Ian Gilchrist told the Belfast Telegraph the police investigation was ongoing and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Peter Nelson admitted he has little hope his brother’s killers will ever be caught.

“I would like to see these people brought to justice but I think it’s going to be difficult to bring a prosecution against anyone because of lack of evidence.

“There were no actual witnesses to the attack and there doesn’t appear to be any forensic evidence, so I’m not very hopeful.”

Mr Nelson was well known in the Ulster music scene and bands across the province were shocked to hear of his death.

He was affectionately known as Rastus to all the bands he recorded at Downtown Radio, where he had worked almost since the beginning of the radio station as a studio producer and engineer.

On one occasion he recorded the Undertones hit Teenage Kicks and had also worked with hit bands like Stiff Little Fingers.

In the late 90s he left Downtown to work at the Chimney Corner where he was in charge of entertainment. He took the job after running many shows there for Downtown.

BreakingNews.ie

SF MEPs defend decision not to back McCartney motion

11/05/2005 - 07:46:15

Sinn Féin’s two MEPs have defended their decision not to back moves to get the EU to fund a possible civil action against the alleged killers of Robert McCartney.

Yesterday, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a motion calling for anti-terrorism funds to be used to fund any potential civil case.

Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brun and Mary-Lou McDonald refused to back the motion, a move that attracted criticism from their opponents in the other Irish political parties.

However, Ms McDonald said afterwards that her party would not back the text because it called for co-operation with the PSNI.

She also said any move to use money put aside for the victims of terrorism to fund any civil case was an attempt to politicise the McCartney killing in order to damage Sinn Féin.

“The horrific murder of Robert McCartney was not a political act,” she said. “It was a murder pure and simple and whatever support comes to the McCartney family has to come from the correct source.”

BBC

Firefighters stoned at house fire

A fire crew has been attacked by a crowd throwing stones and missiles in north Belfast.

It happened while the firefighters were attending a fire at a derelict house in Torrens Parade in the Oldpark area of the city.

None of the firefighters was injured during the attack, which took place on Tuesday night.

There have been a number of recent attacks on fire crews attending call-outs in Belfast.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has appealed to parents and community groups to help stop attacks on their crews.

On Monday night, they came under attack in Poleglass on the outskirts of west Belfast.

Divisional Fire Officer Jim Guy said the incidents had increased because of the longer light evenings.

“It seems to have increased in the last week or so and could be to do with the bright nights,” he said.

“We have been running a successful media campaign with our other colleagues in the emergency services and cross-community groups.

“But it does seem to be a worrying trend in the last week that there have been a number of attacks on our firefighters.”

Telegraph

Dinosaur age tree unveiled
(Filed: 10/05/2005)

A Jurassic tree dating from the dinosaur age and thought to have been extinct for two million years has been unveiled by Sir David Attenborough.

Sir David Attenborough with the Wollemi Pine

The tree was found by chance by a National Parks officer as he backpacked in Australia and the discovery astonished botanists worldwide who thought it had died out millions of years ago.

>>>READ

IrishExaminer.com

Frustrated suicide support groups set up 24-hour helpline

By Eoin English
10 May 2005

VOLUNTARY suicide support groups frustrated at the Government’s slow response to Ireland’s suicide crisis have joined forces to launch their own national 24-hour helpline.
The groups from Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Limerick also criticised a decision to pay former US President Bill Clinton a rumoured €100,000 to address a RehabCare gala event later this month to raise money for a proposed national suicide prevention programme.

“Any initiative that contributes to the prevention of suicide is very welcome,” said Pat Buckley, spokesman for the suicide support groups.

“But the money it will cost for Bill Clinton to make this keynote speech would fund a lot of counselling for the bereaved and those at risk of suicide in places like Cork, Limerick or Kerry.

“Or it could sustain paid posts to co-ordinate and support the voluntary activities of groups North and South, something that Government and Statutory Agencies seem to have difficulty seeing as a priority.”

The number of people who die by suicide has increased by 400% over the past 15 years. Some 444 people died by suicide in 2003. Four out of five were men aged 15 to 24. There were 8,000 attempted suicides last year.

The decision to set up the national helpline follows a meeting in April of suicide support groups organised by Dublin-based Teen-Line Ireland.

It was attended by members of Rosbrien Suicide Awareness, Limerick, Suicide Or Survive in Dublin, the Pips Project in Belfast and Ballinahinch, the Let’s Get Together Foundation, Midleton, Co Cork, and STOP in Leitrim.

The umbrella group, the National Association of All Ireland Suicide Prevention (ASP), was formed to co-ordinate their activities.

“Five people were killed in road accidents in the last few days and that’s getting all the notice,” Mr Buckley said. “But seven people have died by suicide in the last week and no one is talking about that.

He encouraged other voluntary suicide support groups around the country to contact ASP ahead of their next meeting in Dublin on June 6.

Contact Eithne Dunne on 085-7417 934 or Maureen 085-7416 019 or email: eithnedunne@hotmail.com

IrishExaminer.com

McCartney killer was a Sinn Féin treasurer, says MEP

By Ann Cahill, Europe Correspondent
10 May 2005

THE killer of Robert McCartney was one of Sinn Féin’s official treasurers while the man who ordered the killing is frequently seen with leading IRA members in Belfast, the European Parliament was told last night.

The revelations were made by DUP MEP Jim Allister who also challenged three men at least two of them Sinn Féin members to come forward with evidence of the night’s horrific events.

Sinn Féin’s two MEPs, Bairbre De Brun and Mary Lou McDonald, sat quietly in the parliament as speaker after speaker described and condemned the horrific details of the Belfast man’s murder last January.

Two of his sisters, Catherine and Paula, sat in the visitors’ gallery as their courage was praised and support and funding for their campaign was promised by the political groups.

But the DUP’s sole MEP, Jim Allister, held everybody’s attention as he named names and blamed Sinn Féin for the murder of the 33-year-old father of two.

“By a hand signal, indicating a knife should be used, a member of the IRA’s Northern Command gave the order to kill and a key Sinn Féin member savagely wielded the knife and butchered this innocent man, before multiple witnesses.

“An IRA unit, led by the volunteer who had fetched and then disposed of the knife, then co-ordinated a clean-up operation to destroy forensic and real evidence, including CCTV footage. Then, in classic IRA style, the intimidation brigade swung into action to silence the witnesses.

“Though the IRA and Sinn Féin claim to have expelled or suspended up to 10 members linked to this murder, their duplicity and double-dealing is amply illustrated by the fact that three months after the murder this cut-throat killer remained publicly proclaimed as one of Sinn Féin’s official treasurers and the man who ordered the killing still struts the streets of Belfast in the company of the IRA’s Chief of Intelligence, Bobby Storey and leading Provo, Eddie Copeland.”

Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said it was irresponsible of Mr Allister to name names as it could jeopardise a trial.

She said Sinn Féin was not involved in the murder.

Times Online

Firefox flaws prompt security warnings

By Rhys Blakely, Times Online
10 May 2005

image from techfeed.net

Mozilla, the non-profit group behind the Firefox opensource browser, issued an alert, warning users that a combination of bugs could allow criminals to access users’ private information - including banking details, logins and passwords.

There is broad concern that hackers may be turning their focus on Firefox, which initially won over users by promising more secure internet surfing.

The exploitation of two separate flaws in Firefox means that outside hackers can return to surfers’ previously visited pages. These could contain credit card details or other personal information.

The rush to patch the problems, which also affect Mozilla Suite, the all-in-one internet application, marked the fourth major security scare at Mozilla in three months.

Firefox users have been urged to disable the browser’s javascript option to provide a temporary fix to the problem.

Mozilla has also recommended that the browser’s software installation feature be disabled.

This can be done by unchecking the “Allow web sites to install software” box, which can be found by selecting “Options” on the “Tools” menu and then “Web Features”.

Further instructions on how to do carry out these measures can be found at http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-42.html.

Industry figures suggest that Firefox has built a significant user base with some websites claiming more that Firefox has overtaken Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s market leading browser.