1. ‘Up to 10 at risk’ of being slain by Kinahans
Gardaí believe the lives of up to 10 close associates of murdered gangland figure Gary Hutch are at immediate risk as the Kinahan gang seeks retaliation for alleged plots to kill some of its members. Senior officers last night conceded that gardaí in Dublin city faced growing pressure from the actions of the Kinahan gang, after it shot dead its fifth victim yesterday morning. Gareth Hutch (35), a father of one, was killed close to his flat at Avondale House, North Cumberland Street, Dublin 1. The latest victim of the Hutch-Kinahan feud was shot dead just 300 metres from a Garda checkpoint. Billed as a gang war between major rival criminal factions, the Kinahan-Hutch "feud" is much more one-sided than the narrative suggests. Nine months after the first killing, seven men are dead. And all of those, bar one, can be described as Kinahan-on- Hutch murders.
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2. Hollywood-style film studios planned for Dublin
Plans to establish vast Hollywood-style film studios in Dublin, directly employing almost 3,000 people, are at an advanced stage and are likely to be announced shortly, The Irish Times has learned. Windmill Lane Studios founder James Morris and film producer Alan Moloney have confirmed they are developing proposals to build studios on the former Irish Glass Bottle site at Ringsend, alongside 3,000 proposed homes. The plan has been in preparation for nearly five years with an Irish-American consortium. A number of favourable studies have been completed, including one by KPMG. The studios would be constructed on one side of the 80-acre site and would not interfere with the existing plans to build 3,000 homes, which can be built on little more than 40 acres, sources say. Under the plan, which has attracted positive signals from studios in Hollywood, 180,000sq ft of studio space, with several individual "sound stages" – large warehouses where sets are built and films shot – would be constructed. The project has won the support of U2 singer Bono, who lobbied the last government in support of the project and has been involved in whipping up support for the Irish location with major studios.
3. Jihadists not only threat to Euro 2016
Football fans have until now focused on the risk of jihadist attacks during the Euro 2016 championship, to be held in 10 French cities from June 10th until July 10th. They must now also consider the danger of strikes, transport chaos and even civil unrest. France has seen almost daily demonstrations by the left of the left, who demand withdrawal of a new labour law, for 2½ months. But participation was waning and the communist CGT, France's largest trade union, has turned to more drastic measures, including blockading petroleum refineries and storage facilities and open-ended transport strikes.
4. Derry trio importing pills that can induce abortion
Three Derry women who volunteered to be arrested for illegally importing abortion pills said they have procured them for women in this State as well as in Northern Ireland. Colette Devlin (68), one of the three who spoke to The Irish Times by phone, said they had been importing the pills, which can induce an abortion up to nine weeks into pregnancy, for about five years. The three say the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which governs the abortion regime in Northern Ireland, " targets the most vulnerable women and girls who can't afford to travel for abortion". Last month's conviction and sentencing of a young woman at Belfast Crown Court for procuring her own abortion led to the women's decision to turn themselves into the PSNI on Monday evening.
5. Barristers seeking higher prosecution fees from State
Barristers prosecuting criminal cases on behalf of the State have demanded a fees increase from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), saying the State's financial emergency is over. The Council of the Bar in Ireland has held several meetings recently with senior DPP staff and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to make its case. The move follows a claim for higher fees by solicitors and barristers dealing with free legal aid cases, who said that they had accepted near-30 per cent pay cuts "without protest". In its submission, the Bar said its members, who also practice privately, have taken deep cuts in their prosecuting fees since 2008 under crisis-era public sector pay rules, known as Fempi. Recent figures from the DPP, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show barristers in private practice were paid €14 million by the State last year to prosecute cases, an increase of 4.6 per cent.
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