People in the little Shannonside village of Lanesborough, Co Longford, are living in fear - great fear. Just before Christmas the residents of Church View saw men in white `space suits' sweeping directly outside their houses - apparently cleaning up, or sweeping up samples to test for asbestos. The residents themselves didn't have any white suits. Free article

London-based campaigners for Irish political prisoners were jubilant last Thursday as the last Republican prisoner held in England, Nick Mullen, was released by the Court of Appeal. Free article

The recent `revelation' that Margaret Thatcher ``personally authorised'' the use of lethal force at Loughgall on 8 May 1987 is of no surprise to republicans. Free article

``Sinn Fein is a Republican Labour party, with radical practical policies on issues which affect ordinary people. We are seeking to build a partnership with the community which will improve the quality of life of all our people, but especially the most disadvantaged in our society''. Free article

Young people from across the Six Counties broke their silence about how the criminal justice system has failed them during a conference held last Tuesday in the Europa Hotel in Belfast. The conference was organised by the Committee on the Administration of Justice, the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders and the Nucleus centre. Over 70 young people and representatives of various community groups attended. Free article

A large turnout at a public meeting in Derry on Sunday night organised in support of Garvaghy Road residents heard Breandán MacCionnaith accuse the media of swallowing the RUC version of events there. Free article

``The decline of FG Wilson and Mackie International, both of which have been heavily supported by the Industrial Development Board, has raised serious questions about the government's industrial strategy for West Belfast'', says Denis O'Hearn, chair of the West Belfast Economic Forum. Free article

A Belfast judge has cleared four Saoirse members who were convicted after they occupied the roof of Belfast's Waterfront Hall in a Saoirse protest two years ago. Free article

St Valentine's Day marks the 10th anniversary of the murder of Sinn Fein councillor John Davey, a life long republican and active member of Magherafelt District Council. Free article

There is no coherent government policy to meet the biggest housing crisis this country has seen since the late 1960s. This was the message from Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin when he spoke in a housing debate in the Dáil last week. Free article