METRO Thursday, October 8, 2009 D Wax artist Laurent Mellie makes final adjustments to a Frankenstein waxwork in final preparations for the official reopening of National Wax Museum in Foster Place, Dublin Picture: PA getting into a wax METRODigest A BANK manager who says she gave the $340,000 (231,000) she stole over eight years to needy customers has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison by a judge who declared her Robin Hood days are long over. Patricia Keezer said the embezzling began in 2000, when she would give people $2,000 (1,360) at a time to customers. Keezer reversed bounced- cheque charges and other fees when she was a manager of Citizens Bank in Manchester, Michigan. She said: I do have a problem with giving things away. STORMONTs warring political parties were yesterday urged by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to end their dispute over the devolution of policing and justice powers. An architect of the political deal that led to the formation of the power-sharing government, Mr Ahern (pictured) said he found it hard to believe politicians would jeopardise the future of the political institutions. He was in Belfast to launch his autobiography which recounts events that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Ahern call to NI leaders DUBLIN businesses are demanding a reduction in council rates given the downturn in trade and deflation in the economy. The Dublin City Centre Business Association has also produced figures showing footfall on Thursdays, the second busiest day of the week, has gone down by more than 30 per cent since the introduction of the College Green bus corridor. A meeting organised by the Fine Gael group of councillors heard that rates are 10 per cent above the consumer price index. DCCBAs Tom Coffey said if Dublin City Council raises rates, they will force businesses to close and so get less revenue. The Council is due to decide the rates in two months time. Dublin businesses call for cut in rates Visions of the future: IADT student Simon Doyle, representing the winning film in last years Dare 2 B Drink Aware film competition, helps launch the 2010 competition in the Digital Hub. Picture: Marc OSullivan A TRINITY dentistry student has been given a six-month suspended sentence for assaulting another student. Morgan Roche, 29, of Station Road, Sutton, had not slept in days due to exam stress and had taken Prozac and alcohol when he punched the 22-year-old DCU student at City Bar on Dame Street in March 2008. The victim told the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Roche approached him in the cloakroom queue, put his arm around his shoulder and when he tried to get away, punched him in the face. Roche pleaded guilty to assault. Judge Patricia Ryan said she had taken into account the fact that the offence was completely out of character for Roche. Dentistry student convicted of assault FORMER Formula One race ace Eddie Irvine is getting back into racing as the patron of the Queens Formula Racing Team. The team, made up of students of mechanical and manufacturing engineering, is taking part in the Formula Student competition at Silverstone, for which they must design, build and compete as a team with a single-seater car. As he took up his new role Irvine (pictured) said: The best teams are the ones with the best engineers. The technical people are in many respects more important than the drivers. Queens signs F1 star Irvine trinity in world top 50 collegesBy jeaNaNNe craigTRINITY College Dublin was yes- terday ranked the 43rd best univer- sity in the world in a top interna- tional survey. The city centre institution which was placed 13th among its European counterparts was the only college in the country to make it into the top 50 of the Times Higher Education QS World University Rankings. And TCD fared even better with the 3,200 employers questioned in the survey who rated it 39th. The colleges Provost Dr John He- garty said the result was a positive sign amid the current recession. This is a strong endorsement by the global workplace of the univer- sitys undergraduate and postgradu- ate programmes and of the calibre of our students, he said. Trinity be- ing ranked so highly by employers validates not only the values of this university, but bodes well for na- tional economic recovery. More than 9,380 academics also took part in the poll, which saw the college jump six places since last year when it entered the landmark top 50 for the first time. Trinity ranked well across five dis- cipline categories: arts and humani- ties, social sciences, natural scienc- es, life sciences and biomedicine and engineering and IT. Dr Hegarty said the college in- tended to boost its place further in next years survey. But he warned the Government needed to keep in- vesting in third-level education and research to ensure the continued success of Irish institutions. Ireland came late to the table and is playing catch up in terms of research invest- ment in comparison with other countries, he added. METROe-MaiL US at: mail@metroireland.ie TELL What do you think of whats going on in the news? Or do you have a witty view on the bizarre little things in life? We want to hear from you for irelands liveliest letters page index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html