Byline: NIKI WALDEGRAVE IT'S going to be a battle of the babes when Sophie Ellis Bextor releases her new single on the same day as Kylie Minogue's next month. Kylie's pert posteria and shapely legs have been the talk of the nation since her...
Byline: Lorraine Davidson THE Prince of Darkness Peter Mandelson has finally seen the light, it seems. I don't know why he is credited with being a political genius if he has just worked out what everyone else realised years ago: that spin...
Byline: ALAN RIMMER SEX-mad Mick Jagger seduced his own children's nanny and made love to her within 48 hours of their first meeting...with his wife Jerry Hall in the next room. Claire Houseman last night told of her fling with the rock superstar...
HOMEOWNERS are paying an average of pounds 400 a year too much on their mortgage because they have not got the one that is best for them. It would take just 15 minutes to find a new mortgage that would save at least pounds 33 a month, according...
Byline: ANNA DAY NOT many of us are lucky enough to have Elton John as a godfather. If he stays true to form, he will probably shower Liz Hurley's baby Damian with expensive presents. But there are lots of ways mere mortals can help give a...
WHETHER we like it or not, we all need it ... insurance only seems like a waste of money until your house is burgled, your car breaks down or even when somebody steals your favourite rose bush. Read our guide to the best deals on all types of insurance...
A NEW generation of mortgages is attracting over 1,000 new customers a week. These loans put together all your borrowings and savings under one umbrella. Called Current Account Mortgages and Offset Mortgages, they offset the amount you are...
GIGI Morley knows exactly what she would do if SHE hit the jackpot on the National Lottery. The bubbly new presenter who joined BBC1's Lotto show last night says she would splash out on a holiday of a lifetime - then buy a home away from it all...
LOW interest rates mean the cheapest mortgages for home-buyers in 40 years. But they also mean the lowest saving rates for decades - so you need to find the best home if your hard-earned cash is going to grow. The best way to save is to put...
MILLIONS of women face a struggle in retirement - just as they have done during a lifetime of poorly- paid work. Three-quarters of Britain's eight million pensioners are women, and most have to get by on the pounds 58-a-week single person's state...
Byline: Mo Mowlam LAST week I spent some time in Northern Ireland promoting my book. Apart from a half-day to launch the book, it was the first time I had been back since October 1999. In the last few years there have been phenomenal changes....
Byline: Mo Mowlam DURING the 1980s we were all encouraged to buy our own homes. In fact, it was reckoned to be one of Margaret Thatcher's greatest political coups to allow council tenants to buy their homes. At the time many people decided...
Byline: JIMMY WALKER SCOTS rider Iain Duffus won a controversial victory after a memorable finish to the North West 200 motorcycle race in County Londonderry yesterday. In the main superbike contest of the day Duffus was just in front of local...
Byline: MICHAEL DERBY FERRARI are ready to fight motor racing's governing body in the courts if they are heavily punished over last week's controversial Austrian Grand Prix. The champions have been summoned to an FIA hearing next month to ...
Byline: TED MACAULEY DESPITE Eddie Irvine's valiant Grand Prix efforts global attention has been drawn to the Jaguar brand name for all the wrong reasons. The Irish playboy's race car gets my vote as the Formula One flop of the year. It's...
Byline: CLARE FITZSIMONS LITTLE Sophie Perren has a rare condition which makes her "die" every month. Every 21 days the tot collapses and her mother Nancy has to resuscitate her limp body. Anything from a small splinter or a tiny scratch...
Byline: DECLAN POWER THE women who suffered in the infamous Magdalene laundries are to be denied compensation by the State, the Irish Sunday Mirror can reveal. The Department of Education has confirmed that the Residential Institutions Redress...
Byline: SCOTT RAMSEY in Ostend and SARAH WHITE and MATTHEW BELL in London THE wife of missing best man Ian Gilbert broke down in tears yesterday after his body was found in a marina where she was handing out appeal leaflets. Charlotte Gilbert,...
Byline: SCOTT RAMSEY in Ostend and SARAH WHITE and MATTHEW BELL in London THE wife of missing best man Ian Gilbert broke down in tears yesterday after his body was found in a marina where she was handing out leaflets appealing for information....
Byline: DONNA CARTON MEMBERS of the Omagh Bomb Survivors Group met Home Secretary David Blunkett in London last week for a high-profile meeting. Amidst dramatic new controversy about Garda competence in the Omagh investigation, relatives hit...
Byline: GERI GLOVER Christian Aid Ireland THERE are certain things you can guarantee will happen in the month of May. School exams will begin, as will the inevitable exam weather, warm, long sunny days. The May bank holiday brings the first...
Byline: TERRY PRONE Electoral analyst FIANNA Fail could have been interesting, but didn't want to be. Fine Gael wanted to be interesting, but didn't know how. The PDs were desperate to be interesting, but managed it only at Dandy/Beano level....
Byline: IAN SPARKS in PARIS and JAMES WEATHERUP in London THE call-girl let her towel slip with a giggle, lay naked on the hotel bed and said: "I am all yours. Don't you find me irresistible?" Blonde Marianne, 21, is an elite prostitute working...
Byline: PAUL DAVIS PENSIONER Tony Kerin is trying to come to terms with the result of a horse race which cost him almost EUR525,000. The Clare-born racing fan picked the winners of five races in a huge TV jackpot bet. But with everything...
Byline: MICHAEL CLOWER JESSICA HARRINGTON can take the Tipperary Cup at Clonmel today with Evening Scent - one of the smallest horses in training. This mare won four races on the Flat in England but lost her way and her form before joining...
Byline: MICHAEL CLOWER DANNY HOWARD, who nearly hit the big time in last month's Attheraces Gold Cup, emphasised just why he is being tipped for the top with a fine ride on Castlerueanna at Downpatrick yesterday. He sent the 8-1 chance to the...
Byline: ALASTAIR DOWN THERE was a strange incident at York on Wednesday, when Kieren Fallon was confronted and verbally abused as he returned on the Queen's Right Approach after the pair had put up a very disappointing performance in the Dante...
Byline: BILL KNIGHT CANNY Frenchman Olivier Peslier overcame two sets of traffic problems to land a 9-1 triumph on Keltos in the pounds 77,000 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury yesterday. The jockey almost failed to make it to the track after being...
Byline: GARY EMMERSON BRITON Richard Burns is in the hunt for victory in the Rally of Argentina after leader Marcus Gronholm ran into problems on yesterday's penultimate leg. Third-placed Burns trails his Peugeot team-mate by 39.7 seconds ...
Byline: ROUGHAN MaCNAMARA GARDAI officers pictured beating street protestors during a May Day demon-stration in Dublin are now being targeted for revenge attacks on an underground activist website. One officer, Garda Donal Corcoran - who is...
Byline: DAVID BURKE AUSSIE Adrian Vowles couldn't have picked a better time to break his try duck for the rampant Rhinos. Inspired signing Vowles, a surprise close-season capture from Castleford, sunk old boss Stuart Raper's hopes of a seventh...
Byline: DAVID BURKE WIGAN boss Stuart Raper tore into his shell-shocked Warriors after the Rhinos finally ended their JJB jinx. Leeds trailed 22-18 until late tries from Adrian Vowles and Mark Calderwood ensured the Rhinos leap-frogged Hull...
Byline: DAVID WILLIAMS BRETT Davey last night told jubilant Pontypridd fans to prepare for a European adventure. Davey, the man with bronze hair but golden boot, kicked all 20 of Ponty's points as they came from behind to beat Llanelli in the...
Byline: DAVID WILLIAMS BRETT Davey rewrote the record books with a kick that killed off Llanelli's double dream - and brought Pontypridd's a step nearer reality. With extra time looming, Davey struck the winning penalty in the seventh minute...
Byline: JOHN HAWKINS ROB Andrew last night played down fears of a long-term injury to England stand-off Jonny Wilkinson. Wilkinson was carried off after 15 minutes of Newcastle's Zurich Championship semi-final hammering by Gloucester at Kingsholm....
Byline: PHIL BENNETT: Interview by David Williams LLANELLI have lost a Cup Final and I've lost a scoring record - but I've no complaints. Pontypridd were deserved winners and in Brett Davey they had the one player who kept his nerve and composure...
Byline: CATHAL DERVAN PAUL O'CONNELL is desperate to win his own private battle this week so that he can say the perfect thank-you to the Munster veterans. O'Connell, an Irish debutant this season, only came off crutches on Wednesday after...
Byline: JOHN HAWKINS JUST a week after apologising for his notorious racism allegation, Rob Andrew got an easy ride at Kingsholm - but the same could not be said for his men. Newcastle were torn apart by a rampant Gloucester throwing the ball...
Byline: CATHAL DERVAN PAUL O'CONNELL is desperate to win his own private battle this week so that he can say the perfect thank-you to the Munster veterans. O'Connell, an Irish debutant this season, only came off crutches on Wednesday after...
Byline: GARY FITZGERALD ARSENAL are wallowing in their double glory - now Austin Healey thinks its Leicester's turn to complete rugby's version. And if they don't win in Cardiff on Saturday, Healey feels the season will be seen as a big failure....
Byline: AUSTIN HEALEY ARSENAL are wallowing in their double glory - now it's our turn to complete rugby's version. And if we don't see off Munster in Cardiff on Saturday our season will be seen as a big failure. Despite being an Everton...
Byline: JOHN HAWKINS ROB Andrew last night played down fears of a long term injury to England stand-off Jonny Wilkinson. Wilkinson was carried off after 15 minutes of Newcastle's Zurich Championship semi-final hammering by Gloucester at Kingsholm....
Byline: SPENCER JONES LEICESTER'S proud unbeaten home record was finally brought to an end as Bristol sent the Tigers crashing to their first defeat in domestic competition at Welford Road since 1997. And the Shoguns' domination was as emphatic...
Byline: RACHAEL TINNISWOOD SHE may be Albert Square's maneater - but EastEnder Sam Butcher shows that off-screen she has only one love. Sam - real name Kim Medcalf - had eyes for no-one but Sam Grant, her partner of three years, when the couple...
Byline: Words: John Kercher We talk to the other gorgeous Ms Minogue about all her shopping secrets... `At photo shoots the stylists have all these clothes for me to wear, and a bell goes off in my brain that I haven't done enough shopping...
Byline: DECLAN FAHY SINN FEIN was euphoric after yesterday's election - with predictions it would end up winning at least four seats. Party supporters roared in delight in count centres as their candidates were raised shoulder high in victory....
Byline: DECLAN POWER THE sister of convicted babykiller John Reilly was busted for brothel-keeping last year, the Irish Sunday Mirror can reveal. Justine Reilly, 34, from White Oaks, Clongskeagh, was convicted of running brothels at Parnell...
Byline: LUCY LAWRENCE TWO brothers suspected of organising the Millwall soccer riot in which nearly 50 police officers were injured are the sons of a retired policeman. Detectives believe that John and David Grimwade played a major role in...
Byline: Words: Jennifer Rodger We're at the London Aquarium and Esther McVey is about to confront her greatest fear - sharks - for our charity challenge. `While swimming in the sea in Kenya, I saw a shark a few metres away,' she explains. `I...
Robbie Williams' dating average: 5 months (rumours, occasional dates and unconfirmed sex not included) Current squeeze: Victoria Schweizer Dating since Feb 2002, four months Nicole Kidman Dating rumours at the end of 2001 Geri...
Byline: Sophie Vokes-Dudgeon Pamela Anderson, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston have all been under the knife in the quest for physical perfection. So I was in good company when I knocked on the door of Dr Steven Hoefflin's Santa Monica surgery...
Byline: Richard Stott HERE we are on the front line in the war against yob youth. The battle lines are confused, the targets difficult to see, the weapons largely untested but battle has been well and truly joined and not before time. In Banbury...
Byline: IAN HYLAND EASTENDERS Little Mo's sentence hangs over Walford this week as she gets eight years for attempted murder. But step forward Super Kat and trusty sidekick Little Billy. They swing into action and track down Trevor's ex, Donna....
Byline: OSSIAN SHINE RUSSIAN Marat Safin blasted his way into the Hamburg Masters final on Saturday when Spain's Tommy Robredo retired with an ankle injury when trailing the sixth seed 6-2 4-2. Safin held the upper hand throughout on a sun-...
Byline: ANDREW BUSHE A BLOODSUCKING parasite that is attacking bees throughout the country could destroy the entire population of wild honey bees within a few years according to a leading expert. The spread of the parasite, the varroa mite,...
Byline: LUCY LAWRENCE AS award ceremonies go, last night's British Soap Awards provided exactly what we've come to expect from such gatherings. The question "Which star is wearing what?" was just as important as "Who's going to win what". ...
Byline: DONNA CARTON SHAKESPEARE is censored, sex is taboo and the bible is the most important book in Northern Ireland's Independent Christian Schools. There are just seven of these little known schools run by Reverend Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian...
Byline: DONNA CARTON FEARS were growing last night of a new wave of Republican violence after a top Provo gunman defected to the Real IRA. The top terrorist, believed to have been responsible for more than 20 murders in the north Armagh area...
Byline: DONNA CARTON FEARS were growing last night of a new wave of Republican violence after a top Provo gunman defected to the Real IRA. The top terrorist, believed to have been responsible for more than 20 murders in the north Armagh area...
Byline: TAMZIN LEWIS SCOTTISH truants are being given cash prizes as incentives to attend school under a controversial new scheme. Pupils with behavioural and social problems are promised monetary rewards and shop vouchers if they don't skip...
Byline: MAEVE QUIGLEY CHAT show king Gay Byrne has decided that the Harley given to him by Bono is too much of a handful. Veteran TV presenter and long time motorbike fan Gay, 67, was presented with the top of the range bike on the last ever...
BERTIE'S return to office was probably the worst kept secret of the election - but the collapse of Fine Gael under Michael Noonan's leadership most certainly was not. For the party to depose John Bruton and elect a new leader so close to a General...
THE Republic's election campaign may have been quite lacklustre but the poll results certainly caught everyone's attention. Sinn Fein proved that their growth south of the border has begun. The party strategy was to strike in the most disaffected...
Byline: DECLAN POWER A NUMBER of disgusted punters walked out of Dublin theatre when a man URINATED on stage as part of a dance performance. The performance took place at The Project theatre in Dublin's Temple Bar. Described as An Exhibition...
Byline: TOBY McDONALD THE BBC is to make a new pounds 1million survival show in Scotland. Following the success of Castaway, filmed on Taransay, the BBC and the US-based Discovery Channel are filming Escape From Experiment Island! on the remote...
THIS is your chance to win Wildlife Quiz And Amazing Facts. It's a handy 232-page quiz book on nature and wildlife for kids and adults who love quizzes. Wildlife Quiz And Amazing Facts by Don Conroy and Chris Wilson is an incredible collection...
HERE'S your chance to win a pair of tickets to two of the top rugby union events of the year...and we've got five pairs to give away! Each of our five winners will get a pair of tickets to see Wales take on the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium...
Byline: John Kelly IT WAS midweek mayhem, stuff the kids shouldn't see. But how are you supposed to stop them, eh? Woz junior was glued to the violence. One of the two protagonists was much bigger than his opponent and he took every possible...
Byline: John Kelly "WHEN big Jack came shopping he got two for the price of one" was how John Aldridge described the discovery of Ray Houghton the Irish soccer legend on the Red and The Green (RTE1 Thursday). Charlton arrived at Oxford to ask...
Byline: EAMONN O'HANLON SOCCER fans have stuck the boot into a new movie about a plot to inflict a team of Scottish no-hopers on the League of Ireland. The movie - A Shot At Glory - features lowly Kilnockie FC, who are threatened with exile...
Byline: Adrienne Wild NOW English roses, lilacs, bearded iris and peonies are coming into flower it's virtually impossible not to make your garden as pretty as a picture postcard in late spring. At this time of year the gorgeous plump blooms...