A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Canon seeks better science and religion link
A senior Church of Ireland canon has called for the formation of a more constructive relationship between religion and science following publication of a controversial book by Prof Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design.
Canon Ian Ellis, who is editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette, said Prof Hawking’s theory that it is not necessary to posit the existence of God to understand how the universe came into being, “betrays a confusion of disciplines” between religion and science.
“While science is about facts, religion is about something beyond fact, about meaning and purpose,” Canon Ellis said in a sermon yesterday at St Patrick’s Cathedral. “In one sense religion and science interact as soon as the moral questions that the facts of science pose are realised.”
Elite status for Spartathlon duo
Dubliner John O'Regan and Belfast's Eddie Gallen have joined an elite group of Irish people who have finished one of the world's most gruelling races, the Spartathlon.
More than 60 per cent of runners did not complete the 246km (152.85 mile) race from Athens to Sparta within the required 36 hours. The race started on Friday morning from the Acropolis in Athens.
Spain-based Eddie Gallen, who was Ireland's top finisher at this year's 24-Hour World Championships in France, came home in 57th place, with more than two hours to spare.
Ultra runner John O'Regan arrived home 22 minutes later, in 67th place.
While 440 athletes had entered the race, 325 athletes actually competed, and only 128 finished the race.
FG TD Creighton in defamation case
Fine Gael Dublin South East TD Lucinda Creighton is being sued for defamation by a Co Cork property developer in the wake of comments she made criticising the party leadership for accepting donations from developers whose loans had been transferred to Nama, writes Marie O'Halloran.
Michael O'Flynn, company chairman and managing director of Cork-based O'Flynn Construction, lodged defamation proceedings with the High Court against Ms Creighton on July 29th, nine days after her speech to the MacGill Summer School at Glenties, Co Donegal.
The Fine Gael TD yesterday confirmed the legal action and said she would defend the proceedings.
SDLP claims UDA recruiting youths
The Ulster Defence Association is recruiting teenagers and paying them to intimidate Catholics in Co Derry, the SDLP has claimed.
East Derry Assembly member John Dallat has claimed that the UDA is systematically recruiting young people into its youth wing, the Ulster Young Militants, and using them to paint sectarian slogans and threaten the Catholic population of Coleraine.
He wants the two governments' paramilitary watchdog, the Independent Monitoring Commission to focus on sectarian problems in the town.