METRO Tuesday, November 17, 2009 D METRODigest Online: Children get to grips with a laptop at the launch of the plan BEVERAGE company Whyte & Mackay has asked a team to drill through Antarcticas ice for two crates of McKinlay and Co whisky that polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton lost in the 1909 Nimrod Expedition. Master blender, Richard Paterson wants to sample the 100-year-old scotch for a series of tests that could decide whether to relaunch it. A TEENAGER who threw a glass bottle in another boys face, leaving him with permanent scars, was yesterday sentenced to 18 months detention, with 12 months suspended. Christopher Hull, 18, of Marian Villas, Donegal Town, grabbed the bottle from a friends hand and threw it at the then 15-year-old during a fight. The boy spent two nights in hospital following the attack and underwent plastic surgery on his face but was left with permanent scars. Hull, who was 15 at the time, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting the complete stranger in Dublin in 2007. Teen jailed for bottling boy in fight ONE in three restaurants will have closed within six months if the Government does not take urgent action. The Restaurants Association of Ireland said more than 80 per cent of them were currently losing money, hundreds had closed since the downturn began and 21,000 jobs were at risk. In a pre-Budget rescue plan submitted to Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, the association proposed reducing the minimum wage from 8.65 to 7.65 per hour, lowering local authority charges and reducing VAT and excise duty on wines and food. It said the sector employed 64,000 people and contributed 2billion to the economy annually. 21,000 restaurant jobs face the chop THREE men were last night charged with assaulting a father-of-three who died in hospital yesterday. Jim Doyle was surrounded by his family as his life support machine was turned off. The 40-year-old suffered serious head injuries during an altercation outside the Mezz Nightclub in Gorey, Wexford, in the early hours of Saturday. His cousin Neil Doyle, 26, was also injured in the incident and is recovering in Wexford General Hospital. Meanwhile, a man in his late 30s remains critically ill following a serious assault close to Dublins Christchurch Cathedral, also on Saturday. Garda have appealed for witnesses who were in the vicinity of Werburgh Street to come forward. Club assault death: Three charged A THIRD rate of income tax for high-earners and a public sector pay cap of 100,000 were among a range of tough budget measures outlined by Sinn Fin yesterday. The party claims its budget proposals would raise 7.62billion and serve as an alternative to cutting vital public services or social welfare. Finance spokesman Arthur Morgan (pictured) said increased measures such as cutting excise duty on alcohol by a fifth must be taken to stem the flow of cross-border shopping. 7.62billion savings plan 150m laptop plan for the classroomBy Sarah StaCk A NEW 150million plan to have a laptop in every classroom in the country was launched yesterday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen revealed that, despite the black hole in public finances, funding will also be provided for digital projectors and software. Mr Cowen maintained the multi-million-euro Smart Schools = Smart Economy plan is a vital in- vestment for the future. Government is making a strong statement, said Mr Cowen. Despite the difficult economic circumstanc- es we face, we must invest in our young people. We must invest in information communications technology in our schools... We will work in partner with teachers, with parents, with students themselves and with the private sector in rolling out this ambi- tious and necessary programme. Speaking at the launch at St Josephs National School in Terenure, Dublin, he added: There has been a revolution in the level of investment in our schools programme and rightly so because in the past, in far more difficult times, we were unable to provide practically any capital investment. A NEW survey reveals recently unemployed people are four times more likely to claim to have depression than the general population. The Pfizer Health Index found 20 per cent of jobless people cut back on prescription medication and are also more reluctant to visit their GP. Jobless are depressed v1 index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html