RADIO KILKENNY

6pm news Sept 6th

All Ireland Fever

All-Ireland fever has taken over the southeast as tomorrow's All-Ireland Senior and Minor Hurling Finals at Croke Park draw close. Brian Cody is managing the Cats in an All-Ireland final for the eighth time, and Kilkenny are seeking an elusive three in-a-row and their 31st All-Ireland title in all. This would put them into the lead, one ahead of Cork on the all-time honours table. The last time Kilkenny completed the All-Ireland three in-a-row was 1913.

Kilkenny already had the Liam McCarthy Cup this week, but only for a brush-up. After years of dents, scratches and even a bit of vandalism, the silver cup was back in the hands of its creator James Mary Kelly of JMK studios. It's the first major clean up the Cup has recieved since JMK designed and made it 16 years ago.

14 week old baby boy dies 

Police in Belfast have launched a murder inquiry following the death of a 14-week-old baby boy. The infant died after he was admitted to hospital with a number of injuries. A 24-year-old man has been arrested and is being questioned in connection with the death.

Taoiseach hints to easier credit 

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has hinted that the Government may try to make it easier for people to get credit in an attempt to prop up the ailing property market. Speaking on last night’s Late Late Show, the Taoiseach admitted the economy’s deterioration had happened much faster than anyone would have anticipated. National Wage Agreement talks collapsed last month, but the decision to restart them was made following a two-hour meeting with the Taoiseach at Government Buildings yesterday.

Bhutto's widower wins  

The widower of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto will succeed as president of Pakistan after winning a landslide victory in today’s election. Mr Zardari, who had been widely expected to win, had secured 458 out of 702 electoral college votes, according to partial Election Commission results. But today also brought a brutal reminder of the threats to Pakistan's stability, when a suicide car bomber killed 16 people in an attack on a police post in the northwestern city of Peshawar. At least five of the dead were policemen, and the blast wounded about 40 people.

Death toll rising from Hanna 

There has been a sharp jump in the number of people known to have been killed when tropical storm Hanna struck Haiti earlier this week. The police commissioner in the city of Gonaives said almost 500 bodies were found as flood waters receded. He said a number of people were still missing and that the final figure could be even higher.