THE decision by Dublin city manger John Tierney to abandon proposals for the development of a citywide broadband wireless service is yet another setback for our ambitions to build a hi-tech economy, which is badly needed because of the rapid decline of the construction sector and the rise of the euro.

IT is not often that I agree with the Royal Institute for International Studies. However, this time it has got it spot-on. In its latest report, the institute says Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the recent US/British wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.