Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello's closing remarks at Akbayan’s 16th Anniversary Event, Buffet International Cuisine, Quezon City, Jan 30, 2014 ... read full story / add a comment

A recent Channel 4 documentary showed that a drone shot down in Sudan after taking part in several government operations against civilians and rebels contained a carburettor apparently made in Tillotson's Tralee plant.

The EU exports billions of euros' worth of weaponry and other military hardware every year. Below are details of these exports broken down by source and destination country, year, and type of goods.

Click on individual values to filter results. Link : http://www.caat.org.uk/resources/export-licences-eu/lic....html

Licensed goods: Arms export licence figures are provided for all EU countries. These cover items on the Military List (equipment that is definitely for military use) but do not include Dual-Use items (equipment that could be for military or civil use).

Exported goods: Most countries have also provided figures for the value of exported goods. Germany and the UK are notable exceptions.

Figures indicate known values and are inevitably incomplete due to the differences in reporting between countries. ... read full story / add a comment

Five Palestinian teenagers are facing life imprisonment for a crime that never happened. A settler car accident labels them as "terrorists". Fight for justice for the Hares Boys! ... read full story / add a comment

International Parental Child Abduction is not a new trend as globalization bring people into a social setting normally not experienced in previous years . Relationships develop of course and love ,children and break ups are also to be expected. The removal of an Irish infant from Ireland is a crime under International law and the Non Fatal Offences Against the person Act under the Irish Statute book. There is also an international agreement called the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction which the Irish State signed in 1980.

The issue surrounding this legal instrument outside of the EU is vague with countries such as the USA providing little or no support to victims of this cruel crime and Irish Department of Foreign Affairs complete reluctance to challenge the USA whom citizens are responsible for the abduction of Irish infants born in Ireland. ... read full story / add a comment

The series looks at the influence that the industrial dispute had on several different artistic disciplines from Literature and Song to Poetry, Drama and History. ... read full story / add a comment

A colossal pod of 250 plus Bottlenose dolphins including babies, juveniles and one baby albino dolphin is being held captive overnight in the cove right now. It will be a total of 19 hours before they will endure the torture of being ripped from their family and selected for captivity. Those not selected will be slaughtered for human consumption. ... read full story / add a comment

Yesterday, Pope Francis appointed nineteen new Cardinals from around the world. Sixteen of the nineteen are eligible to vote for the next Pope. There were no new Cardinals selected from the United States. ... read full story / add a comment

St Patricks Day Festival would like to do a call out to the LGBT community to take part in the 2014 parade.

After the hugely successful 2013, City Fusion (St Patrick Day Parade) would be delighted if members of the LGBT community would join us again for the project in 2014. It‚s important for us to include new groups in the pageant, to foster new partnerships and engage with the LGBT community in a wider way after the great work from last years groups Dublin Pride and BelongTo in 2013. ... read full story / add a comment

To get your copy, send US$0.50 to Mundial Publications, Box 3321 Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008 USA Subscriptions: US$10. Or contact an Internationalist supporter. ... read full story / add a comment

SATURDAY at 5pm.
The AOHS have just received information from a Waterford train employee that a pack of hounds hunting across the train tracks have been apparently mowed down by the 2.50 Waterford to Dublin train.

We are currently seeking conclusive proof about this incident!!!!-we now have some more on this.

It happened apparently in the area of Mullinavat and the train accident happened at approximately 3.20 pm this afternoon at Mulinavat.

As it is Saturday we presume it was the Kilkenny foxhounds hunt, who hunt every Saturday at 11am. This has yet to be confirmed.They would normally meet at 11 am.

However we know that a hunt met today at the Rising Sun Pub as the pub staff have just confirmed. They however know nothing of the accident.

Gardai in Moincoin were not informed.

*Rising sun pub/ Mulinavat. Alternatively call 00353 (0) 51 898173 for enquires.

... read full story / add a comment

The Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes is one of dozens of grassroots tax resistance struggles featured in a new book that is designed to help such campaigns to succeed. ... read full story / add a comment

Message to Comrade Kim Jong Un, DPRK & Korean People on 100th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung ... read full story / add a comment

Through our endorsement of Revolutionary Republicanism, we stated without apology that the defence of Irish Sovereignty, the achievement of true Independence and the struggle for Socialism were mutually inclusive tasks and that negation of one signalled a dangerous rejection of the other. We stated clearly that the mobilisation of the masses is a task which cannot be bypassed and that key to that task is the presence of Republicanism within and alongside day to day struggles of workers, campaigning groups and communities.
... read full story / add a comment

The Socialist International is deeply moved by the passing of Nelson Mandela, the man who, representing the struggle for freedom of an entire nation, became a symbol for justice, reconciliation and peace for the entire world.
... read full story / add a comment

Latest Connemara fish farm could lead to EU daily fines. Government reported to EU

An environmental group has reported the resumption of fish farming in Kilkiernan Bay on the north shore of Galway Bay to the European Commission.

Friends of the Irish Environment, whose submission in June 2013 is being considered by the Commission as part of the reopening of the investigation into sea lice and salmon, have published the REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE MEASURES AGAINST IRELAND FOR RENEWED AND UNASSESSED SALMON FARMING IN IRELAND IN KILKIERAN/CILL CHIARÁIN BAY NATURA 2000 SITE on their website.

According to a statement from the group ‘The reopening of these sites in Kilkieran Bay using expired licences is in direct contradiction of the European Court Judgment against Ireland in 2007 and, if sustained, could lead to daily fines against Ireland.’

A 2007 court judgment found that Ireland has not properly assessed aquaculture operations that might impact on protected bird life as this is required even for renewals. The site at Ardmore Point, Kilkieran Bay, was licensed in 2002 without any assessment and abandoned in 2009 because of high sea lice levels and pancreatic disease. The licences expired in 2012.

FIE’s Report alleges that the Government is deeply involved in the renewed operations. ‘The company involved, Bradon Beo Teo., was established with Údarás na Gaelteachta, the State Regional Authority, direct funding of €750,000 in 2012.’ The group has provided an accountant’s report which shows that through direct shareholding and part ownership of other shareholders, the State through Údarás is the effective controller of the Company ... read full story / add a comment

We write to bring our concerns to you personally, resulting from media coverage on the 2nd December in the Irish Daily Mail Newspaper of the content of a working meeting dinner menu shared by yourself and President Shinzo Abe of Japan which seriously abused fisheries conservation measures.
... read full story / add a comment

In the wake of Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Simon Coveney's upcoming decision on whether or not to grant the state agency for fishing and aquaculture in Ireland, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, licenses for fish farms in Galway Bay, Slow Food International has reaffirmed its position on intensive fish farms.

Slow Food does not consider open net pen fish farms an environmentally sound practice, Piero Sardo, President of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, confirms. "Open net pen aquaculture is not a solution to the problem of overfishing: It damages natural ecosystems on a local and a global level, including wild stocks, habitats and water quality. Feeding carnivorous salmon in farms means other wild species must also be harvested, resulting in a larger carbon footprint - since the fish feed must be fished, processed and transported". ... read full story / add a comment

Medium Geoff Keating is fighting to get his horses returned to him after Urlingford Pound entered private property in North Dublin and removed 15 horses.

Spots looks malnourished after 6 days in the pound. Is this down to stress? Lack of food? Mistreatment? Or all of the above? You can see Spots is tied up and the rope is taut. This means Spots is unable to eat, drink, move around or even lie down. ... read full story / add a comment

The revised wind guidelines published today by the Minister for Environment do not address most of the key issues concerning windfarms and fail to provide any detail on the single issue of noise and flicker they do address

The document is described as a ‘work in progress’, with the details of noise yet to be settled.

These ‘details’ include special locations, the impact of cumulative noise, the noise prediction methods to be used, the inspection and monitoring regime on foot of complaints under EU regulations and any remedial actions. In fact, it is the type of insidious noise that is the issue for residents more than the level, which is all these Guidelines address. ... read full story / add a comment

The Roscommon Anthology is more than a celebration of Roscommon's literary heritage; it is a book of national importance. The anthology with accompanying literary map reminds us that even the greatest literature is local. ... read full story / add a comment