METRO Tuesday, November 24, 2009 D Three dead after two car crashes THREE people have lost their lives in car crashes since Sunday night. Two Lithuanian men in their 30s were killed near Ballybofey in Co Donegal yesterday when their car collided with another vehicle near Killygordon on the main road between Lifford and Ballybofey. A couple in the second car were taken to Letterkenny General Hospital, where the man was stable but the woman was in critical condition. On Sunday night, a teenager died in a crash in Connemara, Co Galway, when the car in which he was a passenger went off the road near Leitir Mir. Half of Mars was covered by ocean A SINGLE large ocean once covered much of the northern half of Mars, supplied with water from rain-fed rivers, new research suggests. Scientists have produced a new map created by computer analysis of satellite data showing that Martian valley networks are more than twice as extensive as had previously been thought, indicating they were carved by rivers. The evidence suggests that billions of years ago much of Mars had an arid climate similar to drier areas of the Earth which could have supported life. MENU THE Home Digest 4 Guilty Pleasures Celebrity gossip 6-7 World Digest 10 MetroLife Arts and entertainment 12-13 60 Second Interview Comedian Russell Howard 14 TV 14-15 Puzzles & Letters 16-17 Classifieds 18-20 Sport 21-24 Help keep Dublin clean and tidy for everyone by taking your Metro with you and recycling it Fight coach guilty of child sex abuse A FORMER top amateur boxing coach and convicted child abuser who made some of his victims pray before and after sexually assaulting them will be sentenced next month for the buggery and sexual assault of five teenage boys over 13 years. Frank Mulligan, 63, of Mulladuff, Smithboro, Co Monaghan, claimed his acts were Gods will. Garda Sean Grant agreed with Iseult OMalley SC, defending, that her clients reputation as a boxing coach had been ruined, but added Mulligan had showed no sign of remorse for his actions to date. Mulligan was convicted of similar offences in 2008, and jailed for seven years. Play unFair THE controversial late night television quiz show Play TV was yesterday denounced as unfair and misleading by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The TV3 premium rate phone-in programme co- presented by Fiona Mulhall drew complaints from viewers who said they werent put through, despite calling in several times at a cost of 1.50 for each call. The BAI upheld 16 of 17 complaints. leukaemia cure one step closer IRISH medical researchers claimed yesterday they were tantalisingly close to a cure for leukaemia after encouraging results from tests on a new drug. Experts redesigned the current number one treatment before testing began on 18 patients suffering from the life-threatening blood and bone marrow cancer chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in Ireland. The life-threatening leukaemia disease affects roughly one in 100,000 people. About 40 new cases of CML are reported in Ireland each year. Criminals beware: Manager Geraldine Hurley and chief executive Brendan Ryan at the new centre Picture: PA Fiona Mulhall: TV3 presenter TODAY: Very windy with scattered showers. Max: 12C TOMORROW: Heavy showers with fierce winds. Max: 10C METRO Weather 140m courts, a first since 1796 IRELANDS new 140million crimi- nal courts complex will handle up to a 250,000 cases a year when it opens tomorrow. Victims of crimes will be kept sepa- rate from prisoners and juries at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, which officials maintain will give se- curity, privacy and dignity to every- one involved. The impressive glass landmark, near the entrance to Phoenix Park, is 11 storeys high and houses 22 court- rooms. Cases currently brought before the District, Circuit, Central Criminal, Special Criminal and appeal courts will be transferred to the new facility which will have its first case tomor- row. Brendan Ryan, chief executive of the Courts Service, said the new com- plex will be the centre of criminal business for Ireland, adding: It is the first State building of such monumen- BY SARAH STACk tal proportions to be built since 1796 when the Four Courts were first brought into operation. The new complex has been designed to cater for the needs of prisoners, victims of crime, witnesses, jurors and staff. Private suites built for victims in- clude a colourful, child-friendly room with a video link for young people who have to give evidence. Courtrooms are also fitted with con- sultation rooms and video links to transmit cases which attract a lot of public interest to an overflow area. Mr Ryan revealed civilians have also been trained to act as the go-be- tween with officials and jurors, free- ing up garda currently charged with the role. The jury minders will be civilians, garda cleared and trained. They will be the first point of contact for jurors in every case, he said. ONE of the countrys most historic courthouses could be transformed into a legal museum. Officials want to open up Dublins Green Street Courthouse, built in 1797 and where revolutionary Robert Emmet delivered his courageous and powerful speech the day before his execution. The landmark building is currently used as the Special Criminal Court for non-jury trials against suspected terrorists and organised-crime bosses. The Court Service revealed that when trials move to its new Criminal Courts of Justice over the coming weeks, the listed building will be used as a High Court for civil business. In the long to medium term, when the economic circumstances improve, we might look at turning it in to a legal museum, added Brendan Ryan, chief executive of Irelands Courts Service. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html