squad car in which they travelled the 20km to Belmullet Garda station. The two women travelled in two other Garda cars in the same convoy.



After the women were released without charge, and the camera returned to them, the women discovered the recording of the Garda conversation. They were shocked and disturbed by what they heard.



The recording starts with the women being arrested and the camera been taken by Gardaí. The discussion in the Garda car includes the Gardaí talking about threatening to rape one of the women in their custody and laughing. They also talk about whether they should bother adhering to safety procedures for removing protesters from heights: the Sergeant advocates ignoring the rules learned in Garda training.



Referring to one of the women in their custody, whoIsrael begins troop withdrawal as fragile ceasefire takes hold

Israel tonight started a “gradual withdrawal” of its troops from the Gaza Strip after both the Jewish State and Hamas declared unilateral ceasefires.

In tentative moves by both sides to end 22 days of fighting, Israel announced a halt to its military operations early this morning and the Islamists’ leadership in Syria replicated this afternoon.

The mutual halt to the fighting, which diplomats tonight said was “fragile”, came amid a game of diplomatic brinkmanship being played out by both sides.

Analysts said Israel initiated its ceasefire to show the international community the problems it faced if – as Israeli officials expected – Hamas kept firing barrages of rockets at the towns of Sderot and Ashkelon in southern Israel. The strategy initially appeared to