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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
- WORLD
Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
- BUSINESS
Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
- SPORT
Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
- LIFESTYLE
What Lenny did nextLENNY Abrahamson has directed three feature films: Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did.
Clothes maketh you madTrying on clothes, said Ewart, produced "sensations which bring deep peace and perfect contentment" to the female mind.
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Sexton doubt for France
Ireland fly-half Jonny Sexton will face a fitness battle to be ready to face France in the RBS 6 Nations on March 9 after he was confirmed as having suffered a grade two tear to his right hamstring.
By Simon Lewis
Sexton pulled up clutching the back of his thigh after 30 minutes of last Sunday’s clash with England at the Aviva Stadium in a game that left the Ireland dressing room looking like a casualty ward. Team manager Mick Kearney last night confirmed that Top 14-bound Sexton was definitely out of Ireland’s next Six Nations match, against Scotland in Edinburgh on February 24, and said the usual recovery period for a grade two tear was four to six weeks, the lower limit of which would fall on the weekend of the France match. With Ireland concluding their campaign on March 16 in Italy, a worst-case scenario would have Sexton missing the rest of the championship.
“He’s definitely ruled out of Scotland and though progress has been good so far it’s definitely too early to say when he will return to play,” Kearney said. “But France, if you take four to six weeks, that’s on the borderline.”
Wing Simon Zebo broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot after less than 10 minutes of the 12-6 defeat to England and Kearney confirmed the Munster star had come successfully through surgery but would face 10 weeks on the sidelines but also ruled out lock Mike McCarthy from facing the Scots in Murrayfield due to a medial ligament problem in his right knee, which will be subject to further review in a fortnight.
There was better news regarding McCarthy’s second-row partner Donnacha Ryan, who suffered a lower back muscle strain, back row Sean O’Brien (stiff neck, tight hamstring) and centre Brian O’Driscoll, who incurred soft tissue damage to his right ankle but suffered no structural damage. All three should be fit to face Scotland, Kearney reported.
Sexton’s replacement looks set to be Ronan O’Gara, who has been released back to Munster this weekend to face Scarlets in order to get more game time, with Ulster’s Paddy Jackson lined up to provide back-up.