SO, the mighty Blackwater and many other rivers across the country have broken their banks and flooded farms, homes and businesses leaving bills amounting to millions in their devastating wake.

The appointment of the six-man group of experts to consider the implications and effectiveness of our current legislation governing the sale and availability of alcohol should be warmly welcomed.

In THE past week Senator Barrack Obama of Illinois had momentum on his side in the US presidential primaries following his victory in the Iowa caucuses.

A FORMAL announcement will be made today establishing the Office of Press Ombudsman and the Press Council of Ireland.

TODAY we report on yet another fiasco in the health system, where the fostering service in Meath is in breach of accepted standards by not ensuring that all children using the service have the support of a designated social worker.

THE IDA’s optimism at a time of falling exchequer returns, a relatively comatose housing sector and a general air of pessimism regarding our contracting economy is very welcome indeed.

IF ALL goes to plan, and hopefully it will, a group of Irish adventurers will today safely reach the South Pole, an achievement that once represented the Holy Grail for generations of explorers.

Despite the slowdown in the economy, An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern can take justifiable satisfaction from this country’s continuing economic success, especially when compared with other countries that were for so long considered models of economic achievement.

The second report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body is due out later this week. Even the unions concerned have prudently been talking down expectations in view of the current economic slowdown.

THE startling events in Kenya and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto stand in stark contrast to the opening skirmishes of the US presidential election.