D Monday, December 7, 2009 METRO d20 return to Belfast TAKE THE TRAINDEER Adult Day Return fare from Dublin to Belfast costs just 20. Leave the car behind, and youll really enjoy a day in the city soaking up the festive atmosphere. Tickets available from Booking Offices and www.irishrail.ie An Abyssinian cat dressed in a coat is held by its owner during the 8th International Cats Exhibition in Moscow, Russia Picture: Reuters dont let the mice see me ten balloons test internet accuracy THE accuracy with which information spreads on the internet has been tested... by ten red balloons. A US defence research agency launched ten red weather balloons at ten undisclosed locations across the United States. More than 4,000 groups competed to be the first to pinpoint all ten. Johanna Jones, a spokeswoman for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), said beyond the actual contest, the aim was to see if social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter should be seen as credible sources of information. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) won the challenge. Pop-up messages affect work rate COMPUTER screen pop-ups may slow down your work more than you think, according to new research. Although the actual interruption may only last a few moments, a study has found that computer users then lose time trying to find their place and resume the task that was interrupted. The research, led by researchers at Cardiff University, examined the cost of on-screen interruptions in terms of the time taken to complete a simple seven-step computer task. The researchers found that, even after an interruption of only five seconds, people took longer than normal to complete the next step in the task they were working on. search on for id theft immigrantAN IMMIGRANT who stole a pris- oners identity in a botched attempt to bring his family into Ireland was be- ing hunted by garda yesterday. The mystery man known only to authorities as Mr M took the State to court after suspicious officials re- jected visa applications for his wife and six children. But a further investigation then found he was not who he claimed to be in a case de- scribed by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern as a brazen bid to hoodwink Irish authorities. The Pakistani national, who used the name Musa Abdul Aziz, used a British passport to assure the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Serv- ice that he moved here from the UK. Visa applications lodged in the Irish Honorary Consulate in Pakistans fi- nancial capital, Karachi, by his family stated they wanted to join him in the south-west of Ireland. Under EU law, an EU citizen can bring their family with them to any member state. But visa officers in Dublin noticed two of the children looked older than they claimed to be and when they sought verification from schools, they were found to be fake. The applica- tions were rejected but Mr M told his solicitors to take the State to court over the refusal. It was only then officials learned the man was using the identity of a British prisoner to pass himself off as an EU citizen. It is thought he may have bought the passport on the black market. Despite this, the case went to the High Court last week, where it was promptly thrown out with a warning to solicitors to make sure they know the identity of their clients in future. The man now faces charges of fraud and using a false passport. By BRIAn hutton A brazen bid to hoodwink authorities index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html