HEADLINES
Irish Examiner
Schemes facing the axe improve learning
United in grief: accused attends mother’s funeral
Britain and Ireland need each other more than ever: Clegg
Armed raiders disguised their getaway vehicle as Garda car
Ulster lay-offs ‘may damage Ireland’s reputation’
Irish Independent
Senators in storm over €23,000 leader perk
Two rashers a day ‘increases danger of pancreatic cancer’
No cut in interest rate ‘until March’
Branch closures to follow after bank ‘black Thursday’
Irish Times
Coalition under pressure as 1,100 jobs lost in a day
Drumm loses court challenge against bankruptcy case in US
Officials cautioned Howlin not to pay his advisor €133,600
Irish Daily Mirror
New ‘Nally’ Law: you can shoot burglars
Irish Daily Star
Bullied boy (14) shoots himself
Irish Sun
Vogue and Brian to wed
Irish Daily Mail
Now will you listen?
INSIDE THE PAPERS
Fat passengers should pay more for their airline tickets, according to an airline executive. Page 20 of the Daily Telegraph tells us that Tony Webber, who worked for Quantas for seven years as an economist, claimed overweight passengers were pushing up airlines’ fuel bills. He says the reasoning is simple – the fuel burned by planes depends on many things, one of those being weight. Therefore the increased costs should not fall to people who are keeping their weight in check. The article tells us that measures are already in place around the world to deal with heavy passengers including seat belt extenders and having to pay for an extra seat if you don’t fit on the one you’ve bought.
Ryanair is hitting passengers with another new charge, page 4 of the Irish Independent reveals. The airline yesterday announced a 25 cent levy per passenger for each one-way trip to take effect for all bookings made from next Tuesday. Ryanair are blaming it on the EU’s new “Eco-looney” tax aimed at cutting carbon emissions which it said would cost its passengers €15m – €20m this year. However, Aer Lingus has said it has no plans to levy such a charge.
Chuggers could be banned in the north London borough of Islington, after council officials called to ban them, Mark Hennessy writes on page 11 of the Irish Times. The term chugger is an amalgam of ‘charity’ and ‘mugger’ and is used to described charity workers dressed in colourful bibs, holding clipboards who cheerily greet passers by trying to get them to sign up to a direct debit. Council officials say that people find them a “serious inconvenience” and feel “harassed and threatened” by them.
Armed raiders who got away with €100,000 from a cash delivery van in Cork disguised their getaway car as an unmarked Garda car, the front page of the Irish Examiner reports. They put a flashing blue light on the dash board of their stolen black Saab as it sped from the scene of the robbery. Eyewitnesses told Gardai that they believed it was a Garda car. The details emerged last night as Gardai confirmed the raiders struck just as two cash delivery van staff were refilling the ATM in the Maxol filling station on Car’s Hill. Anyone with information is being asked to contact Togher Garda station.
Football fans attending this summer’s International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin have had their prayers answered, we read on page 3 of the Irish Independent – they’ve been told the Euro 2012 matches WILL be shown on the big screen. Religious chiefs have said they’ll accommodate the thousands of fans attending the conference in Dublin’s RDS in June by showing games after everyone has taken communion.
Old age begins at 54, according to the younger generation and “youth” ends when people turn 32, page 13 of the Daily Telegraph tells us. Naturally, older people have different views regarding milestones. A survey of attitudes by the Department for Work and Pensions in the UK found that, on average, Britons believe that old age starts at 59, while youth ends at 41 but pensions minister Stuart Webb said attitudes to age must change to accommodate the rapidly ageing population.
A performance by the New York Philharmonic was brought to a halt by the conductor after a man in the front row of the audience refused to turn off his incessantly ringing mobile phone, we’re told on page 14 of the Irish Independent. The orchestra’s music director, Alan Gilbert, had been conducting the final movement of Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony but at one point turned to the audience and said, “Ladies and gentleman, I apologise for this. Usually when these things occur, we ignore them. But this is such an egregious disturbance that I forced to stop.” The audience sided with the conductor we’re told with many shouting “Get out” at the man who attempted to brazen it out by simply staring back at the stage and leaving the telephone ringing in this pocket.
A dwarf actor has accused Mike Tindall of inspiring a thug to toss him on to the ground outside a pub, leaving him partly paralysed. Page 7 of the Daily Telegraph tells us that Martin Henderson, who appeared in the Harry Potter films, faces having to use a wheelchair after a stranger picked him up and threw him out on to the pavement during a night out. The assault happened during last year’s rugby world cup, weeks after Tindall, the England centre and husband of royal Zara Phillips was alleged to have taken part in a ‘dwarf throwing contest’ with team mates in bar in New Zealand. Mr Henderson says he believes his attacker may have gotten the idea from Tindall.
