A former political lobbyist has told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that he made cash payments to county councillors to secure their votes for the rezoning of land.

A former political lobbyist has told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that he made cash payments to county councillors to secure their votes for the rezoning of land.

A PHARMACIST who bludgeoned a pensioner with a crucifix in a violent and drunken attack was jailed for life for murder in Belfast yesterday.

KATIE TAYLOR claimed her fourth European Union lightweight title on the trot in Katowice, Poland on Saturday following a 25-9 verdict over Poland’s Karolina Graczyk.

BOTH UCD and UCC have storied histories in the Sigerson Cup. Yet both have endured title droughts in recent times.

BUSINESSMAN Jim Kennedy was arrested by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) after he attended a court case involving an alleged €53 million “corrupt” land deal.

A toddler murdered in the North may have been sexually assaulted before her death, a court heard today.

Detectives investigating the murder of a pensioner are still looking to speak with 10 potential witnesses, a court heard today.

A former Sinn Féin councillor denies shooting a policeman dead, a court heard today.

Another man has been charged with the murder of PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll.

IRISH boxers have brought the country to heights not reached since Melbourne in 1956 as Darren Sutherland claimed a third Olympic medal in Beijing.

14-man Crossmaglen Rangers narrowly pulled through their quarter-final tie with Clontibret of Monaghan on a day of Senior Club Football Championship games that was dominated by action in Ulster.

Wall Street fell for a third straight session today as fresh signs of a housing slump triggered concerns that the economy is slowing too fast and could erode corporate profits.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is preventing two controversial businessmen from selling a multi-million-euro section of land in south Co Dublin.

Stocks in the US finished an uneasy session mixed today as investors grew nervous ahead of the second-quarter earnings season. Weakness in the technology sector dragged on the Nasdaq composite index.

Stocks dropped for the second straight session in the United States today with the Dow Jones industrial average falling to its worst close since March 9. Global markets also sold off as inflation fears worsened.

Wall Street extended its New Year’s rally today, as investors interpreting a slowdown in monthly job recruitment as a precursor to the end of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

US stocks fell moderately today as investors found little reason to extend a year-end buying spree.

US stocks fell today in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which slammed the Gulf Coast, pounding hotels and casinos, constricting oil refinery capacity and leaving insurers to cover losses estimated as high as US$25bn (€20.47).

Wall Street surged higher today, carrying the Russell 2000 to a record close as Wall Street welcomed encouraging economic data and a continuation of double-digit corporate earnings growth.

Wall Street’s fixation with oil prices left stocks little changed today, although investors managed to react stoically to the government’s report of a drop in crude inventories.

A fresh wave of worries pushed US stocks lower today as invesors dealt with disappointing earnings in the consumer sector, rising oil prices and the possibility of a nuclear weapon test by North Korea.

Volatile oil prices and a weak dollar sent stocks plunging in the United States today as the prospect of inflation and rising interest rates sank in on Wall Street.

Beef baron Larry Goodman is due to be questioned about a controversial land deal in west Dublin when he appears before the Mahon Tribunal today.

Lawyers for the Mahon Tribunal have claimed former Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor, businessman Jim Kennedy and solicitor John Caldwell were all involved in the purchase of lands at Coolamber in west Dublin in 1987.

FORMER minister Ray Burke was handed a confidential garda file on allegations of his involvement in planning corruption by his former Cabinet colleague, Seán Doherty, it has emerged.

Stocks sagged on Wall Street today after Coca-Cola and several other companies issued gloomy forecasts, and lower-than-expected figures on industrial production for August threw the broader US economic outlook into question.

US Stocks fell today after three days of gains as investors dealt with the likelihood of interest rates rising significantly higher than expected when the Federal Reserve meets later this month.

A MYSTERIOUS property firm based in Britain is continuing its fight to obtain E13 million in compensation from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, despite being the subject of serious allegations of corruption at the Planning Tribunal over the past year.

FORMER Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor has accused Labour leader Pat Rabbitte of abusing Dáil privilege to make false accusations against him.

A hoaxer who spread panic in the bomb-ravaged town of Omagh was captured by voice experts, it was disclosed today.

Wall Street sprinted higher today as investors kept their faith in a strengthening economy despite Friday’s disappointing employment report. The Dow Jones industrials climbed 102 points to fall just shy of 10,000.

A BRITISH company under investigation by the Planning Tribunal has been awarded just under €13 million for having its land compulsorily acquired for the final leg of the M50 motorway in south Dublin.

Tech stocks extended their decline today as United States investors locked in gains following disappointing results from Computer Associates.

A SOLICITOR admitted yesterday that he had failed to respond to direct questions about the ownership of lands at the centre of planning corruption allegations when initially asked by the Planning Tribunal three years ago.

ONE of the beneficial owners of lands at the centre of planning corruption allegations yesterday insisted he never played any role in attempts to bribe councillors.

A SOLICITOR has told the Planning Tribunal that political lobbyist Frank Dunlop may have brought his name into allegations about planning corruption “as an element of retribution.”

THE Planning Tribunal has heard that the two beneficial owners of a company under investigation for alleged planning corruption were “at loggerheads” in recent weeks over their level of co-operation with the inquiry.

THE outcome of the multi- million-euro compensation row between a county council and British property firm Jackson Way will be known within six weeks, the arbitrator has said.

JACKSON WAY, the elusive British property company seeking €47 million in compensation from the Irish State, has been ordered to appear before an arbitration hearing to prove its existence and ownership.

A BRITISH company at the centre of allegations of planning corruption in Dublin has cleared the final obstacle for receipt of a potential €47m payout from Irish taxpayers.

Former Fianna Fail TD Liam Lawlor has denied threatening and blackmailing solicitor John Caldwell as part of a dispute over the sale of land at Coolamber in Lucan.

LIAM LAWLOR could be forced to sell his Lucan mansion to pay the legal bills arising from his failure to co-operate with the Planning Tribunal.

Former Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor is due to face further questions about his financial affairs at the Planning Tribunal later today.