When the funeral arrangements for Boyzone singer Stephen Gately were announced last week, many people wondered what sort of reception the Catholic Church would give the openly gay star. But at the service last Saturday, the church shocked everyone when it publicly recognised his sexuality and marriage.
Last weekend, Bolivian President Evo Morales took a bold step and intervened in defence of hundreds of thousands of illegal Latin American immigrants in Spain.
On Monday 13 September Dublin City Council will launch a new public bicycle scheme for the city. The initiative is aimed, among other things, at reducing traffic congestion and promoting greener living – pressing problems in the city.
Responding to the Commission on Taxation report released last week, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Arthur Morgan TD said the report is deeply flawed.
On Friday 2 October, Ireland will hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Ahead of the voting, campaigners on both sides are gearing up to make their voices heard by the public.
The first ever Belfast Culture Night will take place on Friday 25 September. The city’s Cathedral Quarter will be totally transformed as public areas and streets are turned into performance spaces offering free shows, events, talks and tours throughout the evening.
Last week Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi – who was jailed for life for his role in the deaths of 270 people when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 – was freed from prison and sent home by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on humanitarian grounds.
The high rate of Irish economic decline since the financial crisis began has continued this week with an increase in the number of jobs being axed in all sectors, according to the CSO. But the Government says it’s doing all it can to find strong measures to counter these losses.
The Cambodian government’s cancellation of a beauty pageant featuring landmine victims has come as a surprise to many.
Last week Garda authorities renewed their call on the public to help solve the murder of a Malawian national whose badly decomposed body was discovered in Kilkenny five years ago.
In times of trouble, most people move to the back of the crowd. ‘Not me,’ they’ll say, ‘it’a nothing to do with me.’ When An Bord Snip Nua released its cost-cutting package last week, almost every spectrum of society said ‘not me’. It’s a human reaction.
Last week’s public whipping of a group of women in Sudan for ‘indecent dressing’ is something that cannot be accepted. Indeed, the act should be condemned by all members of the international community.
Political accountability in Liberia took a bold step forward last week when the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended a 30-year ban on holding office for leading political figures. Top of the list is President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, after she admitted she supported and raised funds for Charles Taylor’s rebellion against the late 1980s military junta led by Samuel Doe.
Since the sudden death last week of Michael Jackson at the age of 50, special tribute has been paid to the self-styled ‘King of Pop’ for inspiring countless musicians and entertainers, not to mention his millions of fans around the world.
The US Senate’s unanimous decision last week to pass a resolution apologising for slavery and all forms of racial segregation is historic, and must be welcomed.
The need to integrate members of the Travelling community in Ireland was highlighted again last week at the annual general meeting of the Irish Traveller Movement (ITM).
The trial of Burma’s opposition leader continues this week. Aung San Suu Kyi is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest, following her decision to allow a US national to briefly stay in her residence.
South Africa’s new President Jacob Zuma – the third elected president of the country since the end of apartheid – promised at his inauguration last Saturday that he would renew the country.