A 40-year-old Dubliner has been shot dead while on holiday in the Spanish resort of Benalmadena. John O'Neill, from Coolock, had travelled to Spain to attend a wedding and for a family holiday with his partner and two children. He had been in a pub in the early hours of Wednesday when an altercation took place which resulted in another patron being ejected. This man, believed to be from Liverpool, returned to the bar some time later and shot Mr O'Neill in the stomach.

The suspect, who lives in the area, has not been seen since.

House price decline slows down

House prices continued to decline but at a slower rate than experienced in the past two years. This latest fall, however, brings house prices down to levels that pertained at the end of 2002.

The latest Permanent TSB/Economic and Social Research Institute house price index shows that houses fell by 1.7% in the quarter to the end of June, compared with 4.8% in the first three months of the year.

Dual carriageway links Dublin and Belfast

The final stretch of dual carriageway between Belfast and Dublin was opened today by the North's Minister for Regional Development, Conor Murphy, with Taoiseach Brian Cowen in attendance. The 12km highway bypasses Newry and makes it possible to drive from Dublin to Belfast in two hours.

Postmistress loses An Post contract after robbery

There is anger in the Co. Donegal town of Carrigans after it became known that An Post is terminating the contract of local postmistress Bernie Moore as a result of the theft of €100k during an armed raid on the premises. An Post claims that Ms Moore, who has held the contract for 30 years, was not following the correct security procedures at the time of the robbery but refuses to discuss the case with the media so details of the alleged failure are not known.

Teenager shot in legs in Belfast

Four masked men bundled an 18-year-old youth into a car in the Falls area of Belfast last night and took him to the Lenadoon area where he was taken from the vehicle and shot once in each leg. Dissident republicans are being blamed for the attack.

Walmart executive flies into Belfast to defuse row

Following the controversy about the Asda supermarket chain firing and then rehiring a loyalist killer, parent company Walmart sent over a senior executive from the States to discuss the issue with the family of the man's two victims. Rick Bendal joined Asda Operations Director Mark Ibbottson for the meeting with the McErlane family in a Belfast hotel on Wednesday.

Afterwards both sides expressed satisfaction with the meeting. For the family, Gerard McErlane said, "We are all very pleased with the outcome of the meeting and for their understanding and sympathetic attitude to us all. We hope this episode in our life is now over."

It is nearly two weeks since Asda employee William Hunter (54) was sacked for asking a delivery van driver to play The Sash on his car stereo. This led to a four-day protest by local loyalists which ended when Hunter was rehired after he "expressed regret for the unintentional offence caused". It subsequently emerged that Hunter had served a long prison sentence for the 1975 murder of brothers Thomas and John McErlane.

Today's Papers

Banks are the preoccupation of the three Southern papers this morning. The Irish Times goes with "Regulator signed off on €169m loan from Anglo to Quinn"; the Irish Independent has "Arnotts may be sold for €1 as banks tighten grip"; and the Irish Examiner headline reads "Fraud squad probes 15 bank cases".

The Irish News reports on an apology offered to the family of Thomas and John McErlaine under the headline "Asda US boss jets in to quell Sash row".

The Weather in Galway

The sun has so far failed to break through the clouds this morning but it has remained dry. Temperature 17C.

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