An Irishman held in the Philippines for alleged drug offences spoke yesterday of his ordeal at the hands of a corrupt legal system that has forced him to remain there under effective house arrest for the past two years.

A Cork man has launched a campaign to help his brother, who has been trapped in the Philippines for almost two years while appealing against a 12-year jail sentence for what his family believes was a trumped-up drugs charge.

THE education system is being ruined by a growing emphasis on business in the running of third level colleges, a teachers’ union leader has warned.