Taoiseach lobbies for release of Colombia Three

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has called on the authorities in Colombia to permit the return to Ireland of three men who have been aquitted on charges of training Farc guerillas in the South American state.

The trio, 58-year-old James Monaghan, Martin McCauley, 41, and Niall Connolly, 38, – all with Irish republican movement links – have been detained in Colombia pending appeals.