IF the justice minister had given a more credible and more contrite explanation to the Dáil yesterday morning on his handling of information surrounding telephone recordings in Garda stations, then he might have retrieved some of his lost political capital.

The Dáil was rocked with accusations that Garda incompetence may have led to a murder and violent assaults being carried out.

The confidential recipient in the Garda who hears complaints of malpractice from serving officers has been sacked.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has revealed there is no Garda report on his failure to give a breath test at a checkpoint.

The secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs said he felt “mugged” over the misappropriation of €4m of Irish taxpayers’ money in Uganda.

One of the country’s most senior civil servants has been criticised by the Ombudsman for Children over claims that he ignored young prisoners’ fears about jail.

THE Government has been forced on the defensive over its decision to allow taxpayers pay for the bank bailout and leave senior bondholders untouched.

A review of US government records found no information about BP attempting to influence the release of the Lockerbie bomber, a committee hearing in America was told.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin will travel tomorrow evening to Cairo on a visit which will include meetings with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit, it was announced this evening.

Dublin: AIB and Bank of Ireland warned the Government that the price banks could have to pay to use the state’s guarantee may be so big it would run the risk of “destabilising the entire bank system”.

The Labour Party is calling on the Taoiseach to clarify the legal basis for the €1m golden handshake given to former FÁS boss Rody Molloy.

CHILDREN who are victims of the Ggovernment’s education cutbacks will be less employable, suffer longer periods of joblessness and be a long-term cost to the State, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has warned.

Police in the southern Spanish city of Seville have been left red-faced after more than 100 kilos of drugs were stolen from police headquarters and replaced with talcum powder.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin is due to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials during a three-day visit to the Middle East this week.

FORMER Marine Minister Frank Fahey faced a storm of criticism yesterday following a damning report by the Dáil’s financial watchdog on an abandoned €6 million scheme to build four marinas.

The Muslim Council of Britain is considering a plan for a national demonstration of protest against the terrorists behind the London bombings.

THE results of a CT scan done on King Tut's mummy indicate the boy king was not murdered, but may have suffered a badly broken leg shortly before his death at 19.

International mediators were renewing efforts today to defuse Ukraine’s political crisis, with the opposition and government locked in a tense stand-off awaiting a Supreme Court decision on the disputed results of the presidential election.

THE appointment of former Taoiseach John Bruton as head of the European Commission’s delegation to the United States has been warmly welcomed as an honour both for this country and for Mr Bruton himself.

CIE UNIONS are to seek assurances from the Department of Transport that their concerns over the break-up of the company will be taken seriously by the Government.

ETHICAL guidelines that will permit the use of five-day-old foetuses for scientific research were agreed by the European Commission yesterday.