Perhaps your column writer Alison O’Conner (Irish Examiner, November 7) makes a valid point that to come down on the ‘plus’ side of the water charges debate is now almost seen as akin to the proverbial turkey voting for Christmas?

Ryanair handed Boeing its largest European order ever on a deal for 175 jets worth $16bn (€12.4bn) at list prices that strengthens the Irish carrier’s domination of Europe’s low-cost market.

Leaving The Atocha Station

A woman who claims former tennis star Bob Hewitt raped her when she was his nine-year-old protege said he had no place in the sport's international hall of fame.

Abu Ghraib prison inmates rioted for a second straight day today to demand better conditions, setting fire to mattresses and seizing an assault rifle from a guard before authorities said the situation was brought under control.

A US man convicted in the shooting death of a convenience store clerk became the 400th person to be executed in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982.

An old leg injury has surfaced as a key element in an appeal that seeks to keep a condemned Texas inmate from being executed this evening.

A US woman pleaded guilty yesterday to trying to cut a foetus from her neighbour’s womb.

A US woman pleaded guilty today to trying to cut a foetus from her neighbour’s womb.

Miss USA Tara Conner, who had come under criticism amid rumours she had been frequenting bars while underage, will be allowed to keep her title, real estate mogul Donald Trump announced today.

WHAT with trying to find the right wood-burning boiler to heat my house and engage a tree doctor who could wield a chain saw with the finesse of a brain surgeon, my mind was full of sawdust and two short planks all week.

The North Carolina Supreme Court today stayed the execution of a condemned inmate to allow for additional DNA testing that he contended would prove his innocence.

A Swedish businessman accused of stealing a rare Ferrari he had shipped from Britain and wrecking it on California’s Pacific Coast Highway will stand trial on embezzlement, theft and other charges.

A woman in the US was charged today with cutting open her pregnant neighbour’s stomach with a razor knife to try and steal her baby, an effort that was thwarted when a passer-by saw what was happening and alerted authorities.

THE US senate has voted to make it a separate offence to harm a foetus during a violent crime, in a victory for those seeking to expand legal rights of the unborn.

Irish Wave, Europe’s tallest moving sculpture – a 116ft structure weighing more than 20 tonnes – was unveiled by its creator today.

THE BOATS, if these computer-sculpted splinters can be called watercraft at all, are utterly charmless.

EMBATTLED America’s Cup challengers OneWorld led from start to finish to open a 2-0 lead yesterday over bitter US rival Team Dennis Conner in their quarter-finals repechage.

DENNIS CONNER’S America’s Cup team said yesterday they would use a boat which sank to the ocean floor only four months ago for their sudden death challengers quarter-final against Britain’s GBR Challenge.

A giant sculpture which is claimed to be the biggest in the world arrived early today in Dublin port.