Adrian Bayley has lost his appeal to have his 35 year prison sentence reduced.

Lawyers for the 42-year-old argued the sentence was excessive and asked for it to be reduced by 7 years, but the judge refused his application and ruled that Bayley would serve his full life sentence.

Bayley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years without parole in June for the rape and murder of Irishwoman Jill Meagher in a Melbourne suburb last September. 

The IMF has completed its eleventh review of Ireland's bail-out and approved a €770 million pay out.

The Troika lender says Ireland is meeting its fiscal targets set out in last year's Budget, with the deficit expected to be about 6.8% of GDP this year.

It says our economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter, but is down 1.2% year on year because of poor exports and as domestic decline continues.

A specialised therapy group for children and families who have been affected by sexual abuse recorded a 4% increase in calls for help last year. 

CARI said its 2012 report also reveals a jump in the number of calls to their helpline relating to violent sexual assault and rape cases. 

The CARI helpline receives between 1,200 and 1,300 calls each year from adults, mothers, relatives and professionals concerned about children who may have been abused and seeking advice on how to move forward. 

Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid have been told that prosecutors in Peru will not accept their guilty pleas on drug charges. 

The pair will need to appear in court again to provide more information on the drugs gang that sent them to Peru to collect 11 kilograms of cocaine and explain their earlier claim that they had been forced to smuggle the drugs at gunpoint. 

By pleading guilty yesterday the pair had hoped to have the maximum eight year sentence reduced to six years and eight months when they were sentenced next Tuesday. 

Eircom today launches Ireland's first 4G mobile phone service which claims to offer speeds of up to 10 times faster than what is currently available. 

The fourth generation in mobile technology is available on the network's Meteor and eMobile services' bill pay plans to more than 1.2 million customers in Dublin, Carlow and Athlone, or 30% of the population. 

In the coming weeks the service will be rolled out to other areas including Cork, Galway and Limerick with an aim to reach 43% of the population by Christmas.