Search Results for 'Colombia'

Togo is a small country about the size of Ireland. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been ruled by the same family for almost 50 years. The justice system is severely under-resourced and the prison system a direct reflection of that. The Central Prison of Lome was built for 600 people. It currently holds over 2,000. Each cell, roughly the size of your average Irish kitchen, holds about 80 people. To sleep only some prisoners get to lie down, side by side like in a sardine can. For this privilege you pay. The rest have to sit around the edge of the room or stand. There is one toilet and shower (ie bucket) per cell. Prisoners are served one meal a day. On average prisoners wait 3-4 years to receive their sentence. Legal representation is mostly absent. Aggression, violence, rape, abuse, bullying and intimidation are the norm. One man described inside as being like a war zone.

Galway City native Dr. Brendan Tobin, self described “nomadic lawyer” and human rights activist will give a talk on “Orphans of the Rubber Boom: Roger Casement’s Legacy in the Amazon” in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Monday next - November 21 - at 6.30 p.m.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe presented the first Budget of the Minority Government Fine Gael-Independent Coalition. Ministers Noonan and Donohoe announced that the total Budget package of €1.3bn favours expenditure increases over revenue reductions by three to one reflecting the Government’s commitment to rebuilding and investing in public services. More detail will be included in the Finance Bill to be published later this month.

Among the attractions of the upcoming Clifden Arts Festival is the launch of the latest poetry collection by Moya Cannon, entitled Keats Lives and published by Carcanet Press. It is also something of a homecoming, as Moya was a long longtime stalwart of Galway’s literary scene.