Truth News Ireland: Today

    Teachers to go on strike over Junior Cert Teachers objecting to Junior Cert changes are threatening a wave of one-day strikes that will close 500 schools, forcing 250,000 students to stay home. The Association of Secondary Teachers' Ireland (ASTI) is ratcheting up its campaign of resistance against the reforms, with stoppages planned from September. The other second-level teachers' union, the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), has signed up for the new junior cycle and its members are currently being trained in the revised curriculum. But ASTI hardliners are pushing a 'no compromise' stance and the union's powerful Standing Committee took the decision, in principle, on strike action this week. Teenager (13) stabbed in Limerick A TEENAGER was rushed to hospital after he was stabbed during a violent park fight. The assault happened on the outskirts of Limerick city shortly after 2.30pm on Tuesday. Gardai have established that a num...

Kurds declare federal region in Syria's north Syria's Kurds on Thursday declared a federal region in the country's north, officials told AFP, but both the government and an opposition coalition swiftly rejected the announcement. Two officials at talks involving Kurdish, Arab, and other parties in the town of Rmeilan said delegates had agreed on creating a "federal system" unifying the three mainly Kurdish cantons in northern Syria . "We have given our blessing for the establishment of a federal system in Rojava (the three cantons) and northern Syria," said Aldar Khalil, a member of the conference's preparatory committee. The declaration risks angering Turkey which is wary of any bid by Syrian Kurds to solidify their autonomy. The move will centralise governance in areas that Kurdish parties and their allies already control. The borders and other administrative details concerning the region would be discussed on Thursday, offi...

UK Occupation Forces Conspired to Murder Hundreds of People in the Occupied Northern part of Ireland UK Crown Occupation forces colluded with loyalist Terror groups in the Occupied parts of the North of Ireland on a vast scale leading directly to the deaths of hundreds of people must be fully investigated, said Amnesty International. British occupation forces (army, MI5 and Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch) operated with thousands of agents and informants working inside paramilitary groups in Ireland, with many of these individuals directly involved in criminality and murder. Just one of the paid army agents, Brian Nelson, provided assassination targets for the three main Loyalist Terror groups – the Ulster Freedom Fighters, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando – as well as providing weapons for the killings. Nelson was involved in importing hundreds of AK47s, grenades and rocket launchers from South...

3 Palestinians killed after alleged attacks near Hebron Zionist settlement Photo: MA’AN NEWS AGENCY   March 15, 2016 Three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops on Monday morning after they allegedly carried out two consecutive attacks near an illegal Israeli settlement in the southern occupied West Bank in which four Israeli soldiers were injured. An Israeli army spokesperson said that Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians after they opened fire at Israelis waiting at a bus stop near the settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron. Witnesses said two Palestinians in a Peugeot 504 pick-up truck tried to shoot at Israelis at the bus station and that Israeli troops fired back at them, killing them immediately. Shortly afterwards, she added, a car ran into a military vehicle in a “ram attack,” and Israeli soldiers shot and killed the driver. The Israeli army said one soldier was wounded in the shooting ...

Newly elected Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail is at the centre of a bitter local row over who should replace his running mate on Kildare County Council. Supporters of first-time TD Fiona O'Loughlin believe that the Ó Fearghail camp scuppered the chances of her preferred candidate at a selection convention last Saturday. It is normal practice that a councillor who becomes a TD is given the opportunity to co-opt their replacement.   Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail It is   understood that Ms O'Loughlin favoured long-time party activist Anne Duggan Connolly, but votes piled in for Murty Aspell, who was seen as the favourite candidate of Mr Ó Fearghail. Two other candidates, Noel Heavey and Ger Elwood, were also on the ballot paper. As Ceann Comhairle, Mr Ó Fearghail is guaranteed a seat in the Kildare South constituency at the next election and, as such, is expected to steer clear of party politics. But a source said: "It was known that Fiona wanted...

As the People of Ireland plan to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rebellion centenary, over 400,000 people are expected on the streets of Dublin’s city centre. The Gardaí prepare for a terror incident ? This was the garda advice to people attending events in Dublin,  "If you live outside the M50, try to leave your car outside the M50. If you live inside the M50 try to leave your car outside the Grand Canal on the Southside or outside the North Circular Road on the Northside" Gardaí advise that parents should write their telephone numbers on their children’s arms, in case of ‘accidental separation’. They advise ‘write it on their clothing tags, their arm or a piece of paper and tell them where it is!’ Aside from the public order and public safety dimension to such a large gathering, there is a heightened security threat attaching to the weekend of Easter 2016. In the case of protest or civil disobedience, the events at the tiny ‘Love Ulster’ par...

Families in 103 households in a Dublin estate face homelessness after receiving letters ordering them to leave their rented accommodation. More than 100 families face Eviction. This comes after debts on their properties were bought out by so-called vulture funds, a story that broke in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post. More than 100 families in Cruise Park in Tyrrelstown are set to lose their rental homes over a four-year period. At the meeting tonight at Tyrrellstown Community Hall attended by residents and local politicians, Sinn Féin councillor Paul Donnelly called for the suspension of any eviction notices unless the tenants have alternative accommodation. The national housing charity Threshold has committed to working with residents who are concerned about their future accommodation. Ulster Bank sold an €89m loan it had on its books to a Goldman Sachs vulture fund. Around two weeks ago tenants renting homes in the Cruise Park estate of Tyrrelstown beg...

Drumms' luxury US mansion to be sold as wife Lorraine to move back to Ireland Drumm's luxury US mansion to be sold as wife moves back to Ireland The wife of David Drumm is to sell their luxury US home and move back to Ireland to support her husband as he faces trial. Lorraine Drumm is putting the €1.75m mansion on the market and plans to be back in Ireland by the summer, a court has heard. The home, located in the upmarket Boston suburb of Wellesley, is the only property held by the couple which hasn't been sold off. A detective sergeant said yesterday that the former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive, who is still involved in bankruptcy proceedings in the US, has debts of €8.5m. Mr Drumm's solicitor, Michael Staines, disclosed the plans for the sale and Lorraine Drumm's return in court yesterday. "My client's wife will be coming back to Ireland at the end of June, when the youngest daughter is finished school," he said. "M...

Twelve dead in Ivory Coast resort town attack: police source Sun March 13, 2016 GRAND BASSAM, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - At least 12 people including four Europeans were killed on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on beachgoers at a resort town in Ivory Coast, a officer from the national police said. "For the moment, we have a total of 12 dead, including four Europeans ... We don't know yet if there are others. We are doing clean-up operations right now," the officer told security forces during a briefing attended by a Reuters reporter.

Gunfire reported at popular beach resort in Ivory Coast 13 Mar, 2016 15:38 Gunmen have reportedly attacked the beach resort of Grand-Bassam in Ivory Coast. Reports say there are casualties. A video reportedly shot at the scene and posted on Facebook shows people fleeing from the beach through the territory of one of the hotels. Two gunmen involved in the incident on the beach opened fire, injuring several people, a local tourist guide told France24. Graphic images of people covered in blood and lying on a beach have been posted on social media. Grand-Bassam is located in the south-east of Ivory Coast, lying 40km from the main city of Abidjan. In 2012 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Security forces drive towards Grand Bassam in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 13, 2016

Germanwings crash: Pilot confidentiality 'should be relaxed' The faces of some of those on board the Airbus 320 Who were the victims? What drives people to murder-suicide? Who was Andreas Lubitz? The report, by the BEA investigation agency, said confidentiality had to be balanced with the risk an individual might pose to public safety and that "clearer rules" were needed. It was also critical of pilots being able to make self-declarations about their health, which allowed them to hide any illnesses. The plane crashed in the French Alps almost a year ago French investigators have called for medical confidentiality to be relaxed for pilots, in the wake of last year's Germanwings disaster. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was urged by a doctor to attend psychiatric hospital weeks before he crashed the plane on 24 March 2015, but his employer was never alerted, their final report says . All 150 people on board died as Fligh...

US asks UN Security Council to meet on Iran missile tests Monday March 11, 2016 4:58 PM    A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016 United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United States has asked the UN Security Council to discuss Iran's recent ballistic missile launches during a meeting on Monday, the US ambassador said. The United States is "deeply concerned" about the missile tests "which are provocative and destabilizing," Samantha Power said in a statement on Friday. Iran fired two long-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday and similar tests were carried out on Tuesday, less than two months after the Iran nuclear deal was implemented. Power said Iranian military leaders had claimed that the missiles were designed to be a direct threat to Israel and added: "We condemn such threats against another UN member-state and one of our closest allies." Under...

US, South Korea stage assault drill; North threatens to wipe out enemies The North's military said it was prepared to counter the U.S. and South Korean forces "with an ultra-precision blitzkrieg strike of the Korean style". POHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean troops staged a big amphibious landing exercise on Saturday, storming simulated North Korean beach defenses amid heightened tension and threats by the North to annihilate its enemies. The landing and assault drills on South Korea's east coast were part of eight weeks of joint exercises between the allies which the South has said are the largest ever. The North has denounced the exercises as "nuclear war moves" and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive. Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high since the North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a long-range rocket launch last month, triggering new U.N. sanctions. About ...

Europe-wide crackdown on cocaine-trafficking Balkan Organised Crime Group. The Croatian Police in cooperation with its respective counterparts in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands and with the support of Europol have arrested 13 suspects belonging to a Balkan Organised Crime Group responsible for importing large amounts of cocaine from South America to Europe through the Netherlands. The investigation, known as Operation DANUBE, lasted several months and allowed investigators to locate the stash-house where two Croatian citizens residing in the Netherlands hid the substance. From this location, the substance was then sold to buyers in Austria, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Operation DANUBE revealed that in 12 separate instances, the suspects sold approximately 34 kg of cocaine, 7.7 of which have been seized in 6 separate operations in Croatia, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. The above mentioned investigation allowed for the identification and subsequent arrest of ...

Europol supports dismantling of Chinese criminal network involved in trafficking in human beings Telephone: + 31 70 302 5000 On 8 March Europol supported German law enforcement authorities in dismantling a Chinese organised crime group involved in the trafficking in human beings (THB). Based in Germany, this criminal gang is suspected of trafficking Chinese nationals into the EU for the purpose of sexual exploitation. During the coordinated action day, 10 locations - brothels, private houses and business premises - were searched, 4 potential victims of trafficking were safeguarded, and 1 suspect arrested for the time being in this phase of the operation. Significant amounts of cash and gold, worth EUR 37 000, were seized, alongside mobile phones and money transfer documents. The parallel financial investigation conducted by German authorities identified EUR 330 000 in criminal profits which will be seized at a later date. The suspects allegedly recruited Chinese women...

Serbian Criminal Network Dismantled in Spain and the Czech Republic The Spanish National Police and law enforcement authorities from the Czech Republic and Serbia, supported by Europol, have disrupted a Serbian organised crime group operating in Spain and the Czech Republic. This criminal network is suspected of committing a vast array of criminal offences, including 3 homicides (2 in Serbia and one in the Czech Republic) and the production and large-scale distribution of cannabis.  25 suspects of mostly Serbian nationality have been apprehended (19 in Spain and 6 in the Czech Republic) as a result of the final action day, supported on the spot by Europol experts and carried out by a total of 304 police officers in Spain in the Czech Republic. During the house searches in Spain, 6 indoor cannabis cultivations were seized together with Euro 50 690, presumably the resulting profit of drug trafficking. In the Czech Republic, the police carried out 6 house searches in private resi...