AS I SIT DOWN to write this, the Vita Cortex workers have entered the 70th day of their sit-in. There have been a lot of words used to describe their story over the past few months, including ‘dispute, struggle and fight’. One word which has not been used as often is the word ‘challenge’. This is surprising since this situation does indeed represent a challenge on a number of levels within Irish society. Free article

AS THE DEBATE on the controversial oil and gas exploration technique hydraulic fracturing (known as ‘fracking’), heats up, the newly-formed Good Energies Alliance Ireland (GEAI) has urged communities across the island to oppose the practice. Free article

THE London Mayoral election on 3 May looks set to be a neck-and-neck contest between Tory incumbent Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone. Polls in January put Livingstone two points ahead following a boost in his support, largely as a result of his focus on the need to cut public transport fares; a February poll put Johnson two points ahead, showing just how tight this fight will be. Free article

WILLIE FRAZER has claimed he cannot be held responsible if he provokes violence at a demonstration his ‘Love Ulster’ group is planning for Dublin on Easter Saturday. When Frazer tried to lead a loyalist parade through Dublin City Centre in 2006 there were running riots across the city which cost taxpayers an estimated €10million in damages and lost revenue. Free article

THE untold story of the 2012 Budget is, without question, the dramatic changes to social welfare provision for 92,000 one-parent families. There were a set of general cuts, which affected families who rely on a weekly, means-tested social income support such as the Back to School Clothing & Footwear Allowance, Rent Supplement and the Fuel Allowance. Free article

MERSEYSIDE POLICE allowed a mob of 300 loyalists, neo-Nazis, British Army veterans and soccer hooligans from ‘Casuals United’ to block a road and threaten people attending the annual commemoration for a Liverpool-born IRA Volunteer killed at the famous Upton Ambush of 1921. Free article