Manager's bid to halt sacking

Declan Moriarty, general manager of the Kilkenny River Court Hotel, says he was summarily dismissed in breach of the hotel's own procedures on February 3 last.

He is seeking an order against Neville Hotels Ltd, t/a the River Court, and against William Neville and Sons, preventing his purported dismissal. He also wants to be restored to full pay pending the hearing of his action over the matter.

Peter Ward SC, for Mr Moriarty, told the court heard the defendants had written to their side saying he had been dismissed as a result of not having reached standards required following an review of his performance. They also claimed the dismissal was lawful. The hearing was adjourned until next week.

Diversions for new Luas works

More road closures and diversions are planned as workers dig up Dublin streets in preparation for the Luas cross-city tram service.

Moore Lane will be closed from Parnell Street to O'Rahilly Parade for a fortnight from Sunday.

Traffic diversion signs will be erected in the area..

Plea to help rebel fighters

A Syrian opposition leader has called on world leaders to take "immediate action" to end government attacks on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus, amid reports that some 150 people have been killed in government airstrikes in the past 10 days.

Khaled Khoja, leader of the Syrian National Coalition, made the appeal at a press conference held from the group's base in Turkey.

Three winners in $564m lotto

A food mart in a small city north of Dallas, Texas, was one of three places where winning tickets were sold in the estimated $564.1m US Powerball lottery.

Winning tickets were sold in Princeton, Texas, as well as North Carolina and Puerto Rico for the jackpot draw on Wednesday night, which was one of the largest lottery jackpots ever in the US.

The Appletree Food Mart in Princeton where the ticket was sold will receive a $1m retailer bonus.

Manager's bid to halt sacking