GARDAÍ have warned women not to walk alone home at night following two attempted sexual assaults over the Christmas period in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

EAMONN NOLAN loved working at Comerama.

WHEN I was a child I read about the Magna Carta and how it laid the foundations for British justice.

TWO people were killed yesterday after gunfire erupted as hundreds of Arab and Turkmens marched in protest over fears of Kurdish domination in the oil-rich northern Iraq city of Kirkuk.

ISRAELI troops yesterday clashed with dozens of protesters demonstrating against the construction of Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, leaving one soldier and several protesters injured, authorities and witnesses said.

THE State’s Urban and Town Renewal Schemes will cost the Exchequer up to an estimated 750 million in lost taxes by July 2006.

A left-of-centre economist in the United States has a certain disdain for what he calls “up and down economics”, but for those forced to live in the real world that phenomenon doesn’t exist.

WITH the dawning of the New Year, Ireland today takes on the presidency of Europe.

HAVING read Rónán Mullen’s column (Irish Examiner, Dec 19), I am disappointed that such a grotesque piece was published by the Irish Examiner.

THE original ‘Woman of Aran’ died yesterday in a nursing home in Galway, aged 109.

NEWCASTLE boss Bobby Robson yesterday launched a fightback after chairman Freddy Shepherd's criticism of the under-achieving Magpies players.

THE special efforts of Sciath na Scol Chorcaí in their Centenary Year were rewarded at the Roadstone Cumann na mBuncscol awards presented by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at The Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin recently.

WHY is the Irish Catholic Church so determined to make church-going such an uncomfortable experience.

DEIRDRE MCCORMACK comes to the phone as if she’s been told next week’s winning Lotto numbers are being read out at the other end.

ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger finally has a significant transfer kitty at his disposal but he is still in no hurry to spend it.

ONE of the earliest architects of the northern peace process warned 30 years ago that Democratic Unionist Party leader Dr Ian Paisley would be a formidable barrier to progress and urged that he be excluded from negotiations.

RECENTLY I received notification that my unwanted but compulsory weekly membership contribution to SIPTU will rise from 3.20 to a whopping 3.70 — an increase of 13.51%.

CRUDE oil in New York, which is headed for the highest average price in 20 years, rose on speculation that an Energy Department report today will show that inventories fell last week.

THE boy who made original allegations of abuse against Michael Jackson in 1993 refused to testify in court only because he was not entered into a witness protection programme, it was reported yesterday.

SURVIVORS of the devastating earthquake in Bam in southeast Iran spent another night in the freezing cold as relief, including an 80-strong US team, continued to flood in.

THE benchmark ISEQ Irish Overall Index ended 2003 with its biggest annual advance in five years.

THE dollar fell past $1.26 against the euro for the first time, heading for its biggest annual drop on low US interest rates relative to Europe.

THE more things change, the more they remain the same. If ever a cliché applied to politics, it aptly encapsulates the political scenario in Northern Ireland.

BRITISH spy chiefs secretly warned that the United States would be prepared to invade Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to seize their oilfields following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, it was disclosed yesterday.

LOUIS OSBOURNE, the eldest son of self-styled Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne, spurned the celebrity route when he married Irish girl Louise Lennon yesterday.

TWO men had a close brush with death over the Christmas holidays after a fire trapped them on the sixth floor of their Thai hotel.

TONY MULLINS’ Barrow Drive can get us away to a flier for the New Year in the Wilf Dooly Chase at Tramore this afternoon.

Philip Morris USA, the largest US cigarette maker, is cutting prices of its four biggest brands, including Marlboro, to keep customers from switching to lower-price cigarettes sold by discount manufacturers.

A YEAR after 160 jobs were lost at Comerama Textile Mills, the effects are still being felt in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny.

LOCAL authorities are owed almost 30 million in unpaid rent from council housing tenants.

UNILEVER Bestfoods, which owns the Lyons Tea and HB ice-cream brands, saw its Irish profits fall by 8 million to 31m in 2002.

THE amount of red tape needed to run our election system is in contravention of democratic principles.

THE owners of a dachshund are preparing to face supermarket giant Safeway in court over an injury to their pet.

UEFA Cup holders Porto have joined the chase to sign Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo, who was released by Champions League titleholders Italian giants AC Milan earlier this month, the forward’s lawyer said yesterday.

MANY parts of the country will have nowhere to put refuse and recyclables in five years unless the Government pumps

Ian Guider

DEPENDING where you seek an opinion, 2003 was, in employment terms, “disappointing”, characterised by a “strong performance” or “encouraging” — but only in its omens for 2004.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has said that the Government will seek to ensure greater security and safety in the European Union during Ireland’s EU presidency.

THE family of a six-year-old girl in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant have made an emotional appeal for people to attend blood testing sessions to try to find a potential donor.

THAT was yet another difficult marketing year for cattle farmers, with an increase of more than 5% in the national kill and lower prices paid to producers than in 2002.

CELTIC and Motherwell still have ‘issues’ to resolve before Stephen Pearson can join his boyhood favourites.

THE maximum price for restructuring milk quota remains at 31c per litre (1.41 per gallon) in 2004.

LIVERPOOL pair Milan Baros and Jamie Carragher — who broke legs on the same day earlier in the season — have both set comeback targets.

NEWCASTLE boss Bobby Robson yesterday launched a fightback after chairman Freddy Shepherd’s criticism of the under-achieving Magpies players.

Simon Stone bids to bring order to the chaotic world of the Premiership’s January sales.

PARMALAT Finanziaria’s former chief financial officers Fausto Tonna and Luciano Del Soldato are among six executives arrested by the Italian police today as part of a probe into the collapse of Italy’s largest food company, sources familiar with the investigation said.

CELESTIAL LIGHT, backed from some 6-4 to 9-10, landed the wagers with an extraordinary final flourish in the Graun Hill Mares Maiden Hurdle at Tramore yesterday.

The British economy, Europe’s second-largest, may outpace the euro region for a fifth year in 2004, suggesting the central bank will raise interest rates more quickly than its European counterpart, surveys of economists showed.

THE rebel group accused of murdering Irish Archbishop Michael Courtney in Burundi has given the head of the Catholic Church there one month to leave the country.

SCOTT FITZGERALD plans to make Claudio Ranieri rue the day he failed to sign him by helping Watford dump Chelsea out of the FA Cup.

THE six-month Irish presidency of the European Union, which begins today, coincides with an historic enlargement and the accession of 10 new member States in May.

UNEMPLOYMENT in France unexpectedly dropped for a second month in November, a sign that prospects for faster growth are encouraging companies to take on additional staff.

JOHN HAYES will be wrapped in cotton wool for a week, in advance of Munster’s crucial Heineken Cup clash with Gloucester.

MAURICE SHORTALL worked at Comerama for almost 30 years.

A MAN who murdered a priest and is serving seven years for threatening to kill a social worker was back behind bars last night after being on the run for five days.

THE bell tolls for First Active’s short life as a publicly-quoted company tomorrow.

WELCOME back to Bland FM, you are listening to the Money Matters Show, and we have just been talking about the expense of the Christmas season.

THE number of Americans filing first-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell to 339,000 last week, the lowest in almost three years, suggesting job prospects are improving.

A left-of-centre economist in the United States has a certain disdain for what he calls “up and down economics”, but for those forced to live in the real world that phenomenon doesn’t exist.

The increase in family supplements introduced in Budget 2004 will take effect this month.

The outlook for the export industry looks set to pick up in the year ahead.

Ozzy Osbourne’s eldest son, Louis, has been married in County Offaly.

In the first address of Ireland’s EU presidency, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has highlighted the need for increased security within the European Union.

Paula Radcliffe begins 2004 as the official holder of three more world records, thanks to a rethink by the International Association of Athletic Federations.

A car bomb ripped through an elegant Baghdad restaurant crowded with diners at a New Year’s Eve party killing five Iraqis and wounding 35 others, including at least one Briton and two Americans.

Deadly bombings in Baghdad and Indonesia and fear of terrorism in the United States, Britain, Israel and elsewhere cast shadows over New Year celebrations around the world.

Gardaí around the country made several hundred arrests overnight.

Secret plans to build and launch a spaceship in Ireland were put to the Government by American astronauts, according to classified documents released today.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, sent greetings to the Pope today to mark the opening of Ireland’s spell of European Union presidency.

A murder investigation was launched today after a man was beaten to death in Co Down.

The IRA has expressed deep concern after claiming the British government had failed to deliver on commitments to the Northern Ireland peace process.

Women across the country can propose to their boyfriends this February because 2004 is a leap year!

Northern Ireland is gearing up for a series of events to mark UK Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27.

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today that Ireland would use its presidency of the European Union to try to make progress on the stalled European Constitution – but warned that it could take “some time” to resolve the outstanding issues.

Chelsea’s multi-million pound investments have made them title contenders, but Manchester United defender Gary Neville still rates Arsenal as their main rivals for the Barclaycard Premiership crown.

Arsenal full-back Lauren is looking to make a fresh start in the new year after suffering the fall-out from the Old Trafford melée.

Chelsea defender John Terry is happy to stay at the Stamford Bridge for the rest of his career.

Leeds go into their plum FA Cup third-round tie against holders Arsenal predicting the encounter could herald the best possible start to 2004.

Iran’s orphanages are rapidly filling as aid workers sort the living from the dead, just five days after the devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands.

A man was appearing in court today charged with the murder of Pc Ian Broadhurst and the attempted murder of two other officers, British police said.

A bomb at a crowded night market killed nine New Year’s Eve revellers and injured 46 in Indonesia’s violent Aceh province, a doctor and other witnesses said today.

NEW YORK: the Dow Jones closed up 28.9 at 10453.9.

Sleek, silvery and ready to fly, Shanghai’s 270-mph magnetic-levitation train began its daily commercial operation today, shooting out of its station amid high hopes for better – and much more expensive – commuting.

British telecoms giant BT is considering extending a community programme aimed at supporting education in India, where the firm now employs workers in call centres.

The popularity of playing poker online has rocketed in the past year, according to a report published today.

Acclaimed duo Outkast topped a year-end poll of polls today to land the definitive album of the year accolade.

After a 30-year run, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra has played its final chorus in New York, bidding Dewa mata (Japanese for “See you later”) at a sold-out Birdland jazz club before an audience that included fans who had come from as far away as Japan and Italy.

John Gregory Dunne, a screenwriter and best-selling author who often collaborated with his wife, Joan Didion, and took a cynical look at Hollywood and the Roman Catholic Church in works like True Confessions, has died at 71.

Michael Jackson may face new charges if his claims that he was manhandled by police proved to be false, officers said.

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, says he is sure that Ireland will give a high priority to Africa’s problems during its presidency of the EU.

A man was pulled alive from the rubble of Iran’s devastating earthquake today as relief workers restored some electricity and rushed more aid into the ruined ancient city of Bam.