There was no doubt that psychiatrist Lynn Gibbs killed her 16-year-old daughter Ciara in November 2006 and few people are likely to have been surprised at the jury’s verdict in finding her not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity.

THE gambling and pornography industries are two of the primary users of the greatest communication tool ever put at man’s disposal — the internet.

EVERY now and then we have to ask ourselves if we really are a caring society, one that can or will extend the hand of real, active friendship to a relative or a neighbour in real trouble.

THESE last few days, and even weeks, will have been terribly difficult for anyone close to the tragedy surrounding the death of schoolboy Robert Holohan.

OUR endless obsession with property, the tremendous cost of homes in Ireland and the dependence of the vast majority of aspirant home owners on lending institutions come together in one startling statistic this morning.

Legal notices were inserted in newspapers on January 3 to indicate that the High Court had confirmed the decision of the Irish Medical Council (IMC), following a fitness to practise inquiry, to erase the name of Dr Prem Chandra Kumar Chhetri from the Irish medical register. Although Dr Chhetri was registered to work in Ireland, the IMC refuses to state whether he ever actually practised medicine in this country.

The ending of the Shannon-Heathrow link yesterday marks the end of an era. When the government of Seán Lemass embarked on its policy of industrialisation, the Shannon Free Airport Development Company was established as one of the jewels in that crown in 1959.

THERE were demonstrations in cities across the world yesterday — including Dublin, London and Belfast — to mark the sixth anniversary of the opening of the American detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.

JUST before Christmas cocaine deaths dominated the headlines for a few fleeting weeks.

THE British government yesterday approved a new generation of nuclear power stations, arguing that evidence for the move was “compelling”.