Man charged with breaking window at Taoiseach's office
A man in his 30s has been charged with criminal damage by breaking a window at the constituency office of the Taoiseach in Castlebar, Co Mayo, over the weekend.
Liam Heffernan, Kilnageer, Belcarra, Castlebar was remanded on continuing bail until 3 May when he appeared before Judge Mary Devins at Castlebar District Court today.
Inspector Gary Walsh told the court that approximately €300 damage was caused to the property.
Mr Heffernan also faces a charge for a breach of public order at Tucker Street in the town, where Enda Kenny's local office is situated.
Judge Devins said she accepted jurisdiction in the case "for the moment."
Farmers protest in Athlone over laboratory closure
More than 50 farmers have protested at the Department of Agriculture laboratory in Athlone over concerns about its closure.
The protest was organised by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association who are meeting with officials from the Department of Agriculture this afternoon to seek reassurances that the Regional Veterinary Laboratory will remain open.
"Should these facilities be shut down, who will cover the cost of transporting dead animals to Dublin?" said ICSA Westmeath chairman Dan Lynam.
"In the event of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease or any other infectious disease, what will be the implications of transporting infectious carcasses across the country?"
Ger Dundon charged with dangerous driving offences
Ger Dundon has appeared in court in Limerick on a series of dangerous driving charges and with endangering the public during a high speed chase with gardaí in the city last Sunday.
Mr Dundon, of 80 Hyde Road Limerick, faces ten charges of dangerous driving at a number of locations in Limerick. He is also further charged with recklessly endangering members of the public at a roundabout.
The 30-year-old was arrested by the Armed Response Unit last Sunday and was questioned for two days.
Limerick District court was told he made no reply to the charges. He was assigned a solicitor under the free legal aid scheme and was refused bail by the court.
UN reports Antarctica's highest temperatures on record
The UN's World Meteorological Organisation has published the highest temperatures on record in three Antarctic zones, setting a benchmark for studying how climate change is affecting this crucial region.
Mapping Antarctica's extremes is essential for understanding weather patterns, and teasing out natural climate variability from human-induced climate change, the WMO said in a statement.
For the entire Antarctic region - all land and ice below 60 degrees South latitude - the highest temperature recorded was 19.8C on 30 January 1982 at a research station on Signy Island.
For the continent itself, a maximum of 17.5C was recorded on 24 March 2015 near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Finally, the highest temperature for the Antarctic Plateau - at or above 2,500 metres was -7C on 28 December 1980 at a weather station.
