News Tuesday, February 2, 2010 D By Con Doherty Robinson: DUP not ready for power-sharingDEMOCRATIC Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson said last night his party was not ready to agree a deal which would save Northern Irelands power-sharing government. There had been hope that an agreement on policing, justice and parades would be sealed yesterday. Earlier, Sinn Fin said it believed a deal was in reach but after at least four hours of internal discussions the DUP leader said his party needed more time. Mr Robinson said after leaving a meeting of his as- sembly group: The group has identified, because the negotiations have not been completed, some issues that have to be resolved and items about which they need to be satisfied. It is the latest delay in talks which have been running for more than a week at Hillsborough Castle, aimed at resolving an impasse on the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont. Mr Robinson indicated his party wanted to see the devolved political institutions continue. He said he would meet representatives from the British and Irish Governments later last night, as well as members of the other political parties. The process is one that we have committed ourselves to as a political party, he said. Yesterday evening Northern Ireland chief constable Matt Baggott and chairman of the NI Policing Board Barry Gilligan arrived at Hillsborough for a progress report on the talks from the two governments. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Taoiseach Brian Cowen had been prepared to fly to Belfast to show their support should a deal be reached. The latest developments came after a weekend when hopes of a breakthrough rose. Both the DUP and Sinn Fin said significant progress was made last week dur- ing a marathon 100 hours of negotiations. The key sticking point was a DUP demand for the abolition of the Parades Commission, which adjudi- cates on contentious marches, instead leaving it to an independent panel, appointed by the First and Deputy First Minister, to arbitrate. By the book: Ryan Tubridy, Jack Sullivan, 4, and abha Last, 6, read childrens books by Irish authors to launch the Kelloggs Storytime promotion. A survey by the breakfast cereal company has found a quarter of Irish mothers read to their children from the time they are born Picture: Patrick Bolger Galaxy of stars: Stylist Sonya Lennon prepares for the Galaxy Bubbles Style Emporium, taking place in Dundrum Town Centre this Saturday to celebrate the launch of the new Galaxy Bubbles bar Picture: Paul Sharp New website to assist students cpla focal COMEDIAN Des Bishop and Education Minister Batt OKeeffe have launched a new website to teach Irish. Abairleat.com is a virtual online language laboratory in which students can improve their Irish by interacting over the internet with native Irish speakers, as well as allowing teachers to interact with students. Abair Leat is an important step in our ongoing efforts to make the learning and teaching of Irish more enjoyable and interactive by focusing on the primacy of the spoken word, said Bishop (pictured). THE Civil and Public Services Union, which represents 13,000 lower-paid civil servants, will escalate its industrial action in protest at the Governments pay cuts. The union is already participating in the public service work-to-rule. The union is balloting members for full strike action, with a result expected at the end of the month. Earlier yesterday, 70,000 public sector employees belonging to the SIPTU union joined the work-to-rule. SIPTU President Jack OConnor has warned that there could not be a resolution to the dispute unless the cuts were reversed. Union action set to increase over cuts homedigest A FORMER security worker who staged a tiger kidnapping which involved his house mates being threatened at gunpoint and tied with cables has been remanded in custody pending sentencing. Darryl Caffrey, 35, of Cherrypark, Rivervalley, Swords, a former Chubb Ltd employee, provided information to a criminal gang in relation to his employer and the two men he shared a home with. Caffrey is already serving a three-year sentence for a similar offence. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of false imprisonment and to committing an offence for a criminal organisation. Chubb worker guilty in tiger kidnap case and finally... A cat living in a nursing home in Rhode Island, New England, has apparently developed the ability to tell when elderly patients are about to die. Staff say Oscar rarely spends much time with anyone except when they have just hours to live. Doctors studied about 50 correct calls made by Oscar over five years. Flood management in Cork could top 100m A FOUR-year study into flood management in Cork has estimated that the cost of building defences to reduce the risk of flooding would be in excess of 100m. The study proposes that the ESB use its dams at Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid to control the flow of the River Lee. After heavy rain last November, the ESB had to release up to 535tonnes of water per second through its dam at Inniscarra. Its planned to have all flood risk management studies completed nationally by 2015. THE biopic of late politician Mo Mowlam, starring Julie Walters (pictured), was the highest rated drama for Channel 4 for more than eight years, new figures reveal. The story of the former Northern Ireland Secretarys battle with cancer and her efforts to unite the Norths leaders had a peak audience of 3.7million viewers. Figures also showed C4s final series of Celebrity Big Brother went out on a high, beating last years finale, with more than 600,000 additional viewers tuning in, an average of 4.1million. Mowlam drama hits top audience figures Man is arrested over Romanians murder A MAN in his 40s was arrested yesterday over the murder of a Romanian woman at a hotel complex. The 36-year-old nurse, Loradena Pricajan, was knifed in a suite on the Irish Management Institute (IMI) campus, in Sandyford, south Dublin. The arrested man, who it is understood had been with the woman on the night of the attack, is also Romanian. He was being detained under section four of the Criminal Justice Act at Dundrum Garda Station. DR PHILIP Matthews has been appointed as the new president of National College of Ireland, succeeding Dr Paul Mooney from the end of February. Dr Matthews will join NCI from the UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business, where he was director of executive education. A PhD graduate of Queens University, Belfast, Dr Matthews has a wealth of industry experience from senior management roles in the pharmaceutical and consulting industries. A former Irish rugby captain, Dr Matthews was a member of the Triple Crown-winning team in 1985. Matthews appointed as new NCI president index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html