Ira

Ira "Slim" Benjamin, a retired Baltimore public school maintenance worker, died of pneumonia Wednesday at a nursing home in Wilson, N.C. He was 91. Mr. Benjamin was born in Florence, S.C., and reared in Edgecomb County, N.C. He came to Baltimore in the early 1940s, and went to work for the Sherwood Food Mill on President Street. He later worked for city public schools in the maintenance division until retiring in 1974. After years of living on Bond Street, Mr. Benjamin moved to Wilson in 1976.

LONDON -- The Irish Republican Army was blamed for bringing chaos to London's morning rush hour yesterday by exploding bombs at two rail stations, forcing police to cut all main-line train service into the capital.It was the IRA's second major attack against a civilian target this month and came 10 days after it launched three mortar rounds at the prime minister's office on Downing Street. That attack caused structural damage but injured no one.Bomb scares also closed London's Heathrow Airport.

LONDON -- The small and ancient heart of London was transformed yesterday into a citadel on the Thames in defense against the Irish Republican Army.The precise square mile known as the City, which comprises today's financial district and was the site of the Roman settlement from which London grew, was virtually closed off to nonlocal traffic.Checkpoints were established on eight streets entering the area, and access through nearly 20 others blocked.Scanning cameras were mounted here and there throughout this neighborhood of banks and brokerages interspersed with sandwich shops, ancient pubs and tailors dealing almost exclusively in pin stripe suits.

Higher-income taxpayers for years have been shut out of the Roth individual retirement account and could only look on with envy. But that's about to change. Next year, everyone will have access - albeit, indirectly for some - to this tax-friendly account. The government next year will eliminate an income cap for those who want to convert a traditional IRA, a 401(k) or other retirement account into a Roth. So, basically, anyone with one of these accounts can open a Roth. And in Maryland, the wealthiest state, this change in the tax law could be a boon for many.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Hope for peace in Northern Ireland took a giant stride ahead yesterday as Protestant gunmen responded to the 6-week-old cease-fire of the Irish Republican Army by declaring their own cease-fire.The Protestant paramilitary groups pledged to "universally cease all operational hostilities" as of midnight yesterday. The duration of the cease-fire, a communique said, "will be completely dependent" upon how long the IRA cease-fire lasted.A statement was read by a well-known figure among Protestant paramilitaries, Augustus "Gusty" Spence, who was credited with founding the modern-day Ulster Volunteer Force in the 1960s.

I am almost 61 and still working, but I plan to retire 15 months from now. I have no debt and make about $28,000. My question is, should I take the $6,000 out of my savings and put it in my IRA for this coming year? Even though you are so close to retirement, you could benefit from contributing to your individual retirement account, an IRA expert said. You can make this move as long as you have that much earned income this year. "My gut instinct is his income will be lower next year than this year," said James Lange, principal with James Lange & Associates, a Pittsburgh accounting firm.

LONDON -- The Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility yesterday for Tuesday's shooting of the former governor of Gibraltar, where three IRA members were killed by British security forces in 1988.Sir Peter Terry, 63, who was also military commander-in-chief of "The Rock" until he retired last year, was hit by a burst of automatic gunfire as he sat reading in his home in the Midlands village of Milford, near the town of Stafford.He was the latest in a series of public figures attacked by the IRA in England despite stepped-up security.

LONDON -- The IRA is like the Grinch: It is trying to steal Britain's Christmas.And as it was with the infamous (although eventually rehabilitated) villain created by the late Dr. Seuss, nobody here thinks they'll succeed."

Coming soon. Maybe. The new, improved, undiluted IRA -- a retirement savings and investment plan for all who work for wages.It took a stubborn recession to do it, but a possible tax cut along with a series of investment incentives are in the wind in Washington.An upsurge of congressional interest in reviving the American economy with lower taxes could foreshadow a break for the nation's middle class, a stimulant for business, and an expansion of the IRA program for savers and investors.You remember IRAs.

LONDON -- The Irish Republican Army set off a fire bomb yesterday inside the National Gallery, one of the world's premier art museums, but none of the institution's priceless paintings was damaged, police reported.The bomb was set off about 3:30 a.m. in the bookshop of the museum's new Sainsbury wing, presumably by a timing device, but it did little damage, according to director Neil MacGregor.The National Gallery was able to open its doors to the public later yesterday, and visitors were able to see the acclaimed renaissance collection above the bookstore and a special showing of the queen's pictures in a gallery below the bomb site, which was just off the street entrance hall.