News Friday, January 22, 2010 D Affair allegations were like rape THE fallout from the Monica Leech affair allegations was like waking up every day and being raped as a man, Minister Martin Cullen (pictured) told journalists and lawyers yesterday. Addressing the Media, Society, Defamation A New Era? conference in Dublin, he said the allegations almost destroyed his family life. PR consultant Ms Leech successfully sued several media outlets for stories she said falsely implied she was having an affair, and she won a record 1.8million damages from one newspaper. and finally... STAFF at a medical clinic got a big surprise when a tennis ball-sized meteorite struck the building. The 220g (0.5lb) projectile punched through the roof and ceiling, raining down debris, but no-one was injured. A staff member of the clinic in Lorton, Virginia, in the US, took it to the Smithsonian Institutions Museum of Natural History and experts confirmed it was a meteorite. homedigest Rod set to rock out on two more dates VETERAN rocker Rod Stewart has added extra dates to his sold-out run of gigs in Dublin and Belfast. The Maggie May singer (pictured) has added two dates in July, one in the O2 and one in the Odyssey, after huge demand for the first set of concerts over four nights in May. Bypass to be 500m from historic sites THE proposed bypass at Slane will be built 500m from the World Heritage Site at Newgrange, the National Roads Authority has said. Locals have welcomed the plans as more than 20 people have been killed on the road through the Co Meath village. The bypass is expected to cause controversy as it will be close to the boundary of 44 archaeological sites, including the world famous tomb. DISGRACED MP Iris Robinson is under police investigation after securing 50,000 (57,500) from two developers to fund her young lovers restaurant business. Police in Belfast said their organised crime branch, which specialises in complex financial inquiries, had been called in to establish whether any criminal offence had been committed. The inquiry will be headed by Detective Chief Superintendent Roy McComb. Mrs Robinsons husband, Peter Robinson, stepped aside last week from his role as First Minister for six weeks following the scandal surrounding his wife. Iris Robinson is to face police inquiry the Labour Court today. But they said they wanted to reach agreement before escalating their actions and were making no preconditions going into the talks. The union said: It provides an op- portunity to address all of the matters in dispute between both parties, includ- ing the issue of suspended staff, which Impact believes should be restored to the payroll as soon as possible. The Irish Aviation Authority wel- comed the return to talks but could not say if the suspensions would be lifted. The body said it had always been available to meet in the Labour Court, adding that any discussion must link the issues of pay increases, pension contributions and work practices. A spokeswoman said: We are very pleased to go back into talks. It is the best chance of finding a resolution. Air traffic controllers hold talksAIR traffic controllers yesterday de- ferred plans for another crippling strike in favour of talks to resolve the bitter row. Trade union Impact warned of fur- ther industrial action unless aviation chiefs reinstated 14 controllers sus- pended for refusing to co-operate with new working arrangements. More than 150 flights were ground- ed when controllers shut down Dub- lin, Cork and Shannon Airports for up to four hours on Wednesday. The strike prompted business chiefs and politicians to round on the con- trollers, claiming they were holding the country to ransom and damaging its image overseas. Trade union umbrella group Con- gress and business lobby group Ibec also intervened in an attempt to re- solve the dispute. The two sides have agreed to attend a meeting convened by the States in- dustrial relations trouble-shooters at By Jeannanne Craig Dough-licious: Rosanna Davison and Paula Brady, pizza buyer at Tesco, at the launch of a new range of restaurant-quality at-home pizzas, from restaurant chain Milano, available in 100 Tesco stores nationwide 150 jobs to go at Ryanair Business P19 index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html