10 METRO Monday, November 30, 2009 D BOOKING WWW.GATETHEATRE.IE (01) 874 4045 / 874 6042 Tickets from 15 (Student Discount) FAMILY SPECIAL: 5 TICKETS FOR 100 Tues Thurs eve, minimum 2 children, subject to availability cast includes Barbara Brennan Stephen Brennan John Kavanagh Barry McGovern Mark ORegan I defy even a latter day Scrooge not to be enchanted by this production S. Ind. CharlesADickens CHRISTMAS CAROLadapted by JOHN MORTIMER NOW ON PREVIEWS 20 Mosque minarets are banned in Swiss poll SWISS voters yesterday backed a ban on the construction of new minarets, in a surprise referendum result likely to embarrass the countrys neutral government. More than 57 per cent approved the proposal prohibiting the tall spires whicharefeaturesofIslamicmosques, which was backed by the right-wing Swiss Peoples Party (SVP). The government, which had rejected the initiative as violating the constitu- tion, freedom of religion and the countrys tradition of tolerance, ac- cepted the peoples decision but told the 300,000 Muslims in the country of 7million people they could still practise religion as before. All but four of the 26 cantons ap- proved the proposal and Justice Min- ister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the outcome reflected a fear of Islam- ic fundamentalism. SVP and the Federal Democratic Union gathered enough signatures to force the vote opposing the Islamisa- tion of Switzerland. Posters showed the Swiss flag covered in missile-like minarets and the portrait of a woman covered with a black chador and veil associated with strict Islam. Four mosques among the countrys 130 to 160 Muslim cultural and prayer centres have minarets, including those in Geneva and Zurich. The call to prayer is banned in the country. By stephanie neBehay the 2009 Rose of tralee and Voluntary service Overseas ambassador Charmaine Kenny balances a water container on her head during a week-long visit to VsO projects in Malawi, one of africas poorest countries Picture: Eye Focus the roSe and the urn METRO World Germany: A teen only realised shed been hurt in a fight with another girl when she found her severed ear in her bra. Katarine Tolzmann, 17, from Bernkastel, hadnt noticed because she was drunk. Medics sewed back the ear but a police spokesman said: It remains to be seen if it will stay attached. Bangladeshi villagers inspect the capsized ferry in Bhola, 255km from Dhaka Picture: AFP BanGladesh: Rescue workers righted a capsized ferry yesterday, easing the work of those searching the cabins for scores believed trapped inside more than a day after the boat sank in the south. So far, 58 people have been confirmed dead. The MV Coco was packed with hundreds of travellers leaving Dhaka to head home for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha when it started to take on water. india: Authorities are investigating the radioactive contamination of a water cooler at a nuclear power plant in southern India. The tritium leak may have been intentional, according to a statement released by the Kaiga nuclear power plant. The contamination of the water cooler is a cause for concern, managing director SK Jain said, adding that it was possibly an act of mischief. PhiliPPines: A Muslim clan accused of murdering 57 people, including dozens of journalists and a politicians family, has denied involvement in the November 23 massacre. Zaldy Ampatuan said lawyers would defend his brother Andal, who was held as the main suspect. He is alleged to have led gunmen to shoot the victims and hack them with machetes in the worlds deadliest attack on media. aFGhanisTan: The US military could have captured Osama bin Laden in 2001 if it had launched a concerted attack on his hideout, according to a report for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It also said bin Ladens (pictured) escape paved the way for insurgencies in the region. iran: Plans were approved yesterday to build ten new uranium enrichment facilities, a dramatic expansion in defiance of the UN nuclear watchdog just days after it demanded a halt to construction on one plant and on all enrichment activities. Tehrans defiance will likely heighten tensions with the West, which has signalled it is running out of patience with Irans nuclear strategy. The US and its allies have hinted at new UN sanctions if Iran does not respond. PaKisTan: The opposition demanded yesterday the president relinquish power. President Asif Ali Zardari (pictured) inherited powers from General Pervez Musharraf, who led a 1999 military coup. The turmoil could distract the US ally from its fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban near the Afghan border. sPain: A policeman was shot after surprising several people apparently planting a bomb outside a police barracks in the town of Leitza near the Basque region before dawn yesterday. The suspects fled the scene and the police officer was treated for a bullet wound that fractured his arm. A bombing at a barracks in the northern city of Burgos in July injured 65 people and was blamed on ETA rebels. Hunt on for train bomb terrorists RELATIVES began trying to identify loved ones killed in the wreck of a train believed to have been blown off the tracks by a bomb. Investigators are trying to determine who was behind Russias worst terrorist attack in five years. At least 25 people were killed and more than 100 injured when the rear three cars of one of Russias fastest trains went off the tracks between Moscow and St Petersburg. 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