Your Friday evening catch-up

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

TOP STORIES

The death of Brian Friel has prompted tributes from far and wide. “The nation and the world have lost one of the giants of theatre" was the reaction of Taoiseach Enda Kenny on hearing the news of the legendary Irish playwright’s death at the age of 86.

An Post has advised customersnot to post any letters or parcels until further notice.  The company has blamed industrial action by members of the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) in mails processing centres of supplier company IO Systems for the announcement.

A former law lecturer who had been on the run  after being convicted of downloading indecent images of children  has been arrested at Dublin today.

Luas drivers have said that cyclists  should not be allowed to wear headphones while on their bikes.  The appeal was made as gardaí in Dublin launched a new road safety campaign targeting cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.

WORLD

We’d like to shout out the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, who just brought the dream of a thousand lazy people a tiny bit closer to reality. , Researchers at the university exposed a thousand molecular changes that take place in our muscles when we exercise.

A gunman who opened fire inside a classroom at a rural Oregon college has killed at least nine people before dying in a shoot-out with police.  One survivor said he demanded his victims state their religion before he started shooting.

A baby girl has been shot dead while riding in a car, US authorities have said.  The Cleveland county medical examiner’s office says emergency medics rushed the five-month-old girl to a children’s hospital, where she died after she was in the chest on East 143rd Street near Kinsman Avenue.