The body of a young Dublin girl was found in Thailand today and becomes Irelands first confirmed victim of the tsunami. Three others are said to be missing presumed dead while a further 17 are “medium risk”.

The government has been asked to send troops to SE-Asia to assist with the humanitarian operations. It’s not clear here who this request is coming from as the request has not come from the UN or the countries involved. It would be a good contribution as the Irish Army have lots of experience with logistics [...]

Well perhaps not outgunned but according to the Iraq head of intelligence there are up to 200,000 fighters and active supporters in Iraq, which outnumbers the coalition forces. I wonder how long the US can really hold out there, the future looks bleak.

They have now called off the search for the missing 22 yr old Swede who went trekking in the MacGillicuddy Reeks a week ago. It seems they put in a lot of effort “We had about 180 [people], the coastguard helicopters, search dogs from Northern Ireland, from Wales, most rescue teams from Ireland attended and, [...]

I notice that the great Paul Darragh has died suddenly at his home in Meath, aged only 51. Anyone with a passing interest in show jumping will remember the legend that was Paul Darragh. He was part of that famous team with won the Aga Khan 3 years in a row from ’77 to ’79.