Four men pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in an affray on Bonfire Night in Cork City in a case where it was alleged that some men armed themselves with knives, sticks, meat cleavers, knuckledusters, and bottles in a violent row in a residential area.

An investigation is under way after an accident at the North Carolina State Fair left five people injured.

Accidental shootings at gun shows in North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio this weekend left five people injured.

Twin brothers who set up Dublin nightclub Residence have lost a last-chance legal challenge to retain some involvement in the running of the business.

Two brothers, banned from acting as directors of companies, have been accused of exaggerating their loss of income after they were sacked from a VIP members club they founded in Dublin.

THE parents of an autistic man who lives in a residential service have won a legal battle against the HSE over control of money owed to him by the state.

A CORK company has been acquired in a deal that sees it being the first Irish hi-tech firm to betaken over by a Chinese corporation.

ATLANTIC Bridge (ABVEN), has raised €85 million in funding for technology focused companies.

BILLIONAIRE financier Dermot Desmond has emerged as a backer of the €400 million takeover of a British text message business.

Ernst & Young has announced the Irish shortlist for the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Programme.

An elderly woman who made headlines for threatening to kill her next door neighbour and blow up his van had her case finalised today as she avoided jail and was bound to the peace for one year.

PENSIONERS Michael Smurfit, Allen McClay and Tony O’Reilly are definitely not over the hill.

English man Philip Harrison squeezed in among leading Irish players John Dwyer and Damian Mooney during the second round in the £20,000 McCambridge-Duffy pro-am tournamant at City of Derry.

In Q1 licensing and royalty revenue grew 53% year-on-year to $8.9m (€10m), up sequentially from $8.7m (€9.8m), Parthus announced today.

Irish hi-tech sector company Parthus Technologies is to merge with the licensing division of the American-Israeli computer chip-maker DSP.

Parthus announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and for the full year ended 31st December, 2001.

There may be a slowdown in the world market for chips, but Parthus Technologies has said things will be fine.