Focus on the big picture

TWO related men have been found dead in a suspected murder-suicide on neighbouring farms in Co Carlow.

JOURNALIST Marie Colvin, who worked for The Sunday Times, has been killed by Syrian regime forces in the flashpoint city of Homs, according to reports.

FOUR more bodies have been found inside the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship, including that of a five year old girl.

THE hunt is on for 70 cows willing to take to the skies as part of an ambitious charity flight.

THE number of babies born in Ireland during the second quarter of 2011 fell by 2.5pc, with nearly half of all births in Limerick city being to unmarried mothers.

Irish people in the 1860s had just 9% fat in their daily diet as opposed to the 35%-36% fat levels in today’s heavily processed average daily intake, says dietician Daniel McCartney.

Between 800 and 1,000 people marched from O’Connell Street to Leinster House yesterday, protesting against plans to scrap allowances for newly qualified teachers which will see them earni...

Family and friends of the Vita Cortex workers are planning a candlelit vigil at the factory next week.

Shares continued to ease from recent gains yesterday, thus following the trend on the majority of European stock markets.

There was a palpable sense of relief around the Mardyke after UCC booked their berth in the semi-final of the Fitzgibbon Cup, prevailing in a high quality quarter-final encounter against ...

TWO WESTERN journalists were among a reported 17 people killed yesterday during Syrian army shelling of the rebel-held Bab Amr quarter in the Syrian city of Homs.

THE BOARD of Treasury Holdings approved the transfer of €20.5 million worth of shares in a related company to its owners Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan in 2010 just before loans relatin...

NINE MEN, including senior north Belfast loyalist Mark Haddock, were yesterday acquitted of the murder of Ulster Defence Association leader Tommy English, after the judge dismissed key “s...

NEXT TUESDAY’S Michigan primary may be the most important election of Mitt Romney’s career. He is virtually tied in the polls with Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania whos...

YESTERDAY'S decision by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to make changes to the whip rules has drawn an unimpressed reaction from the RSPCA.

GROUND conditions will dictate whether Ted Walsh allows prolific winner Seabass to take his chance in the Racing Plus Chase at Kempton on Saturday.

IT IS worth chancing the handicapper has seriously underestimated Mark Johnston's Colour Guard, who takes the plunge at Southwell.

Man City v Porto, UTV, Setanta Irl (K.O 5.0)

THERE is strong speculation that Munster coach Tony McGahan will leave the province at the end of the season to become the Australia defence coach.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST AUSTERITY TREATY LAUNCHED | PEOPLE MUST BE GIVEN THEIR SAY SINN FÉIN is part of a new broad [...]

DERRY UNITING IRELAND RALLY | MILLENNIUM FORUM PACKED TO RAFTERS BY PEADAR WHELAN “WELCOME to Londonderry, Basil”, replied Martin McGuinness [...]

OCCUPATION SPOKESPERSON TALKS TO AN PHOBLACHT SOLIDARITY AND STRENGTH FROM SO MANY PEOPLE ON MONDAY 9 JANUARY 2011, a group [...]

LOYALIST MOB CHASES TEEN THROUGH HOUSE AFTER FILM CREW CAR SMASHED UP JAMES TURLEY thought he would die at the [...]

By Niall McDonald FORMER Ireland manager Eoin Hand believes that Robbie Keane’s move to LA Galaxy could severely hinder his chances of playing international football.

By Bernard Jackman THE French public doesn’t hold out a huge amount of hope for their team’s chances in this year’s World Cup.

TIPPERARY 1-19 DUBLIN 0-18 THE LAST time we saw this Tipperary team in the Munster final, it was their attack that won all the plaudits with a seven-goal blitzing of Waterford.

DUBLIN 6-19 WATERFORD 5-13 A VERITABLE goal-fest of an All-Ireland minor semi-final but a game won with consummate ease by Dublin who now face Galway in next month’s final - their first i...

FULHAM IRISH 0-8 ST. KIERNANS 0-4 ST. KIERNANS — slayers of county champions Neasden Gaels just two weeks ago — were themselves toppled at Ruislip on Sunday by Fulham Irish.

More than 500 bullets were fired at four IRA Volunteers who were killed in an undercover British army ambush 20 years ago this week, it has emerged.

Sinn Féin has condemned the government’s Finance Bill for the year 2012, which has intentionally created a new tax loophole for highly paid workers from outside the state.

Brian Shivers has launched an urgent appeal against his wrongful conviction for the 2009 Real IRA attack at Massereene British Army base.

A prominent Catholic priest has agreed that the continuing detention of veteran republican Marian Price is internment without trial.

Republican groups of all hues have rallied in support of Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan, who is said to be near death while shackled to a bed in an Israeli hospital.

Representatives from more than fifty governments and international organisations to attend London conference on the future of Somalia.

The government will launch its Pathways to Work initiative later today.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine has said children are spending over 12 hours on trolleys in hospitals and in some cases are waiting over 24 hours for a bed.

At least 49 people were killed and over 600 were injured when a packed commuter train crashed at a station in Buenos Aires.

US reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were among 80 people killed by shelling in the Syrian city of Homs.

Andre Ayew gave Olympique Marseille a 1-0 win over Inter Milan tonight, with a header in the third minute of extra time.

Basel beat Bayern Munich by one goal to nil tonight.

Manchester City eased past defending Europa League champion FC Porto on Wednesday, beating the Portuguese side 4-0 to wrap up a 6-1 aggregate win.

Munster coach Tony McGahan looks set to leave the province at the end of the season.

Andre Villas-Boas’ gamble in leaving Frank Lampard, fit-again Ashley Cole and even the out-of-form Fernando Torres on the bench backfired spectacularly when Chelsea lost 3-1 at Napo...

Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow claimed Great Britain’s first ever women’s international diving medal after snatching bronze in the platform synchro at the FINA World Cup tonight.

Celtic 2 Dunfermline 0 Charlie Mulgrew celebrated his first Scotland call-up with a wonderful strike against Dunfermline at Parkhead which helped take Celtic 20 points clear of Rangers at...

Comedian Frank Carson died today, his spokesman Ashley Yeates said.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini tonight said he had “no problem” with Carlos Tevez and the striker could be considered for selection in “two or three weeks”.

Graeme McDowell was the first player to tee off in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson today – and the first player to make his exit.

Insideireland: £6.9m Employer Support Programme launched at award-winning South West College. http://t.co/fSvu6dYV

Insideireland: Weddingsonline.ie awards winners announced http://t.co/VmYxxDni

Insideireland: Ulster orchestra return to Derry http://t.co/qf4ZZlGj

Insideireland: Further Olympic tickets to go on sale http://t.co/hWF1D18K

Insideireland: Nearly half of all #Limerick City births outside #wedlock #marriage http://t.co/406DfbLZ

Manchester City cruised into the last 16 of the Europa League with a 4-0 win over Porto. Click for the latest betting on Europa League and to claim your free bets Goals from Sergio Aguero...

UCD to meet Mary Immaculate in Thursday’s Collingwood Cup Final Mary Immaculate College 1-1 UCC (Mary I win 5-4 on pens) This tournament has thrown up a number of shocks but this on...

Ireland began their preparations for next month’s World Twenty20 qualifiers with a comprehensive six wicket victory over Kenya in Mombasa. George Dockrell stared with the ball as the host...

Fitzgibbon & Sigerson cup match betting & live score updates Wednesday 22 Feb 2012 Press F5 or Refresh for latest update Irish Daily Mail Fresher Football Championship (Division 1...

Man Utd v Ajax team news, 8:05pm Thursday Wayne Rooney will miss the second leg of Manchester United’s Europa League tie with Ajax after picking up a virus that forced him out of training...

By Pat Leahy and Niamh Connolly Fine Gael and Labour are expected to agree formally a coalition deal today at separate meetings in Dublin. By Pat Leahy and Niamh Connolly Fine Gael and La...

By Emma Kennedy Irish banks could use an April hike in European interest rates as a way to improve their balance sheets, and push more homeowners into arrears, banking experts fear. By Em...

By Gavin Daly The Central Bank has insisted that companies owned by businessman Sean Quinn must cover losses in troubled investment funds that bought properties in Ukraine during the boom...

By Niamh Connolly Political Correspondent A civil war-style feud over claims to the fifth floor of Leinster House has erupted between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael just days before the 31st D...

By Niamh Connolly Political Correspondent Independent TDs hoping to form a 'technical' group to boost their participation in the Dáil are to meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the selec...

Following a review by the Receiver, in consultation with the management of the company, of the financial and risk areas of the Sunday Tribune it has been decided that publication of the n...

How would it be if instead of our natural life span being around 80 years or so, it was 30 at most? That's what happens to the characters in Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go, a film adaptat...

It took the old heads of Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen to overcome a spritely Southampton as Manchester United eventually progressed to the FA Cup fifth-round with a largely fortuitous 2-1 ...

Right now, courtesy of Martin Scorsese and a writer/producer who worked on The Sopranos, Kelly Macdonald – "weird, hunchy Scottish girl" (© K Macdonald, 2002) – might be ...

The banking guarantee, which has cost the taxpayer €46bn so far, was originally intended to allow the Central Bank to provide emergency funding to the collapsing financial sector wi...

Property tycoon receives apology after information was ‘inadvertently miscast’ when obtaining warrants during investigation into Kaupthing

Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Angela Merkel, insisted that Berlin saw no need to increase the size of the €500bn European Stability Mechanism

The intensifying assault on the city of Homs killed dozens, including two western journalists, sparking fresh pleas for international action

The two plans show that there is strong support for reforms to the bafflingly complicated US tax system but division about how much revenue the system should raise

A former staff at Otkritie had allegedly contacted a Threadneedle employee about a trade in more than a billion Argentinian warrants

A geological burp may have led to the dinosaurs’ domination THE dinosaurs, famously, went out with a bang. Some 65.5m years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, the Earth coll...

Demography may not quite be destiny, but it makes a big difference to countries’ economic prospects. Many emerging economies are in the sweet spot of a demographic transition, wher...

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and UBS AG, in a series of disclosures to law-enforcement officials, have provided crucial information to investigators in multiple countries as part of inquiri...

Hosni Mubarak's security chief on Wednesday blamed foreigners for the killing of protesters in the uprising that unseated the Egyptian president, in the final day of the ousted leader's ...

Turkish and Chinese companies will sign on Wednesday contracts totalling almost $1.38 billion as the two countries boost their economic ties, Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Isolationist North Korea lashed out at its neighbour on Wednesday for hosting an international nuclear security summit in Seoul next month, calling it a "childish farce...

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday called a ballot on the leadership of the ruling Labor party, bringing to a head an ugly row with predecessor Kevin Rudd.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Trade unionists, communists and pensioners angry at punishing spending cuts in Greece marched through central Athens on Wednesday as lawmakers set to work on legislatio...

LONDON (Reuters) - The Serious Fraud Office has admitted to "very regrettable errors" in its handling of the investigation of property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz, the Financial Times report...

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron will leap to the defence of big business on Thursday in the government's latest attempt to calm a public and political backlash against ban...

LONDON (Reuters) - State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to pay out up to 400 million pounds in bonuses to its corporate banking staff as it gets ready to unveil a full-year loss...

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-held neighbourhoods of the city of Homs, reducing buildings to rubble and ki...

A girl who was swept away in the Indian Ocean tsunami seven years ago said Friday she broke down in tears this week after tracking down her parents, who had long lost hope of finding her...

If North Korea's new leader is looking for advice on how to carry on his family's dynasty, he could turn to Rahul Gandhi, who is on a quest to become the fourth generation of h...

Protesters gathered Saturday outside a town hall in southern China to appeal for the release of people detained during demonstrations over a planned power plant expansion, a witness said.

A new survey shows people in poorer countries send text messages more often than those in wealthier countries. Men in Spain and Germany access the Internet on their phones twice as much ...

The National Center on Family Homelessness said 1.6 million children were living on the streets of the United States in 2010 or in shelters, motels and doubled-up with other families. Th...

Bailout lender Allied Irish Bank has revealed it is giving something back to the taxpayer - a Jack B Yeats masterpiece worth more than 1 million euro and 38 other valuable artworks.

The family of two brothers-in-law found dead on neighbouring farms in a suspected murder-suicide have been devastated and numbed by the tragedy, a local priest said.

A 700% rise in the number of sick children left lingering in paediatric emergency departments has been recorded by senior medics.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government raised its target for the sale of state assets to 3 billion euros (2.5 billion pounds) on Wednesday, unveiling a final list of utilities set to go ...

A 3 billion euro sell-off of state assets has been unveiled by the Government with parts of the ESB and Bord Gais energy divisions topping the privatisation list.

Ireland beat Kenya by six wickets in the first of three Twenty20 internationals between the sides in Mombasa.

Former Norwich striker Dion Dublin has praised manager Paul Lambert for the attitude and aptitude he has shown at the Carrow Road helm.

Ireland marked their inclusion in the Twenty20 international rankings table with a comprehensive six-wicket victory against Kenya

DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government raised its target for the sale of state assets to 3 billion euros (2.5 billion pounds) on Wednesday, unveiling a final list of utilities set to go ...

Former Manchester United star Dion Dublin is convinced Paul Scholes would be welcomed back into the England fold with open arms.