THE NEWSPAPER.COM

14/12/2011  |   a pedestrian in his 30s has been killed in a traffic incident in north Cork this afternoon. The man was fatally injured when he was struck by a car between Mallow and Buttevant on the main Cork to Limerick road shortly after 4pm. It is understood the man who was local was pronounced dead at the scene. The road has been closed to allow a Garda forensic crash investigator examine the scene.

15/12/2011  |   one in eight calls to the Samaritans in the last 12 months was recession-related. The report also said 135,000 calls were silent or callers hung up. These could signify someone checking the service is available, finding themselves unable to speak or calling in the hope of finding “the right” voice at the other end of the line. The busiest time for the helpline each day was between 6pm and midnight.

15/21/2011  |   the executive board of the International Monetary Fund has agreed to release €3.9 billion in loans to Ireland after completing its review of it's execution of the bailout programme. The statement was made after a meeting in Washington, and the organisation noted that it has so far loaned Ireland €13bn as part of the bailout programme. The IMF is expected to lend Ireland about €23bn over three years.

16/12/2011  |   the euro zone crisis could push Ireland off track in meeting its deficit targets and could prompt further harsh austerity measures, a new economic report said today. The report predicts consumer spending will have fallen by 2.3 per cent in 2011, with savings remaining high in 2012 as households stay cautious about spending. Although it may recover in 2014, it will be modest.

15/12/2011  |   the flag of American forces in Iraq has been lowered in Baghdad bringing nine years of US military operations in Iraq to the end. Only about 4,000 US soldiers now remain in Iraq, but they are due to leave in the next two weeks. At the peak of the operation, US forces there numbered 170,000. Some 4,500 US soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the war.

15/12/2011  |   a French court has given J Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence for diverting public funds and abusing public trust.
Mr Chirac, was not in court to hear the verdict because of ill-health but denied wrongdoing. President from 1995 to 2007, he was put on trial on charges that dated back to his time as mayor of Paris. The verdict would be seen as a stain on Mr Chirac's (79) character.

16/12/2011  |   both teams Arsenal and Chelsea will head for Italy in first leg following this morning’s draw for the Round of 16 in the Champions League Managers A Villas-Boas and A Wenger must overcome Serie A opponents if they are to reach the quarter-final stage, with Chelsea drawing Napoli and the Gunners landing AC Milan. Napoli presiden believes the challenge for his side will be to control the nerves.

14/12/2011  |   Following the finals draw in Kyiv on 2 December, ticket sales for supporters of the 16 national teams in UEFA EURO 2012 started today. A specific ticket allocation has been reserved for fans of these 16 teams and tickets will be sold based on the country of residence of the applicant. Lotteries will determine which applicants receive tickets and supporters therefore do not have to rush to apply for tickets.

15/12/2011  |   for the past couple of weeks I’ve been in possession of a 55in TV. Your sitting room becomes a TV with a small living space attached.
The marriage of internet and TV is the next big thing, but what’s surprising is how long it’s been the Next Big Thing. In the UK and Ireland, where the options have been more limited, we still watch a very small percentage of our TV through the web.

13/12/2011  |   Nothing could provide a more powerful visual contradiction of the old notion that the Vikings were an alien presence in Ireland, driven away by Brian Bóruma (Boru) in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf. If this seems surprising, it is only because of the power of the story created by his followers of Brian as the hammer of the Vikings, who freed Ireland from a terrible curse.