PICTURE PERFECT

A 93-year-old widower has broken his own record to become the world’s oldest wing walker.

A police investigation into how a convicted Irish rapist was able to travel to Scotland and rape and murder a woman there has led to calls for foreigners entering Britain to be forced to reveal convictions for sexual offences.

A ferry carrying more than 100 people started drifting off the Scottish coast after it suffered engine trouble on its way to Northern Ireland, the coastguard said.

A passenger train was hit by a falling tree in high winds near Belfast today.

A Northern Ireland couple who took their child from state care and fled to Scotland are unable to look after the infant, police warned today.

Police across the UK were alerted tonight over fears that a toddler who was in care in the North was taken to Britain by her parents.

A “DEVIOUS” 48-year-old man who tricked two teenage girls on the internet into believing he was 17 and then raped them was yesterday jailed indefinitely.

LEINSTER’S Heineken Cup hopes received a major boost yesterday with the news that both Brian O’Driscoll and Eoin Reddan will return for the province in tomorrow’s Magners league game away to Connacht.

GRAEME McDOWELL has come up with a novel way of preparing for the start of the 138th Open Championship.

Almost 200 passengers and crew have finally been removed from a Belfast-Stranraer ferry that was unable to dock yesterday after a lorry crashed through the rear doors.

Almost 200 passengers and crew remained stranded on board a ferry today after a lorry broke free and burst through the ship's rear door.

A passenger ferry travelling from Scotland to the North cut short its journey after a lorry onboard broke free and forced open the vessel’s rear door.

After a perfect end to his 50th year in football, Alex Ferguson is crossing his fingers the start of his 51st is injury free.

Man Utd 5 Stoke 0

Scotland’s First Minister will meet his Northern Ireland counterparts in Belfast today.

Scott Murray could be in line for a sensational return to the Scotland side for the Calcutta Cup clash with England at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Life jackets were issued to passengers and crew after a fire broke out on board a ferry sailing today.

European Union officials may give the North special regional status to export beef and other goods following its response to the Surrey foot-and-mouth outbreak, it emerged today.

Terrorism has transformed air travel into a bloody nightmare.

The family of a Northern Ireland fisherman missing for 11 months were today mourning another tragic loss when his father died after being swept into the sea.

IRELAND is developing an international tag as a safe haven for sex offenders because there isn’t sufficient monitoring to prevent them getting jobs working around children.

Police in the North were under pressure today to seek the extradition of a convicted paedophile living in the Republic.

IRISH farmers whose land is being developed for housing and holiday homes are using the proceeds to buy up farms in Britain, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

A Polish man who was caught with €1.4m worth of cocaine hidden in his car in Cork city last year was today jailed for six years.

Former Scotland international Dave Bowman believes his mammoth 17-match ban looks “ridiculous” in comparison with Neil Lennon’s three-game suspension issued by the Scottish Football Association disciplinary committee.

A fresh television appeal for information about the murder of a German backpacker in Northern Ireland 17 years ago has led to a new witness coming forward.

A teenage German backpacker found murdered in the North almost 17 years ago may have been held against her will for up to 10 days before her death it emerged today.

IMMIGRATION cheats, some coming from the Republic, are using the North as the base for a money-spinning bogus marriage scam to get EU citizenship, it was claimed last night.

Ferry company Stena Line said it would carry 45,000 passengers and 9,000 cars between Ireland and Wales on its Dublin Port, Dun Laoghaire and Rosslare routes.

JOHN WALSH, the man who brought foot-and-mouth disease to Ireland, is to have his house compulsorily sold by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and is also facing a new set of smuggling charges in Scotland.

A father and his 12-year-old son died and another son, aged 14, is missing after a motorboat capsized off the west coast of Scotland.

An Irish teenager has died on holiday in Scotland after a quad bike she was riding on a beach flipped over, police said today.

STENA LINE is set to become the biggest player on the Irish Sea, taking over €70m of P&O’s ferry assets on two routes.

Ferry company Stena Line is set to acquire two new routes across the Irish Sea.

Plans are underway to cut ferry crossing times between Northern Ireland and Scotland by 30%.

Police in Belfast have seized what they believe to be the biggest haul of ecstasy ever uncovered in Northern Ireland.

Two men were today being questioned about the murder of top loyalist John Gregg.

Scotland’s First Division fixture card suffered a complete wipe out following the postponement of Arbroath’s game with St Mirren.

FROM next summer a €100m super ferry will ply the Irish Sea route between Dublin and Holyhead. Both ports will need to have their facilities enhanced to accommodate the vessel's size.

A new 44,000-tonne superferry will begin sailings on the Holyhead to Dublin crossing next summer, it was announced today.

Ikea today moved to meet the demand of its Irish fans, announcing a home delivery service by cross-sea ferry.

Extreme weather conditions have resulted in Stena Line ferry cancellations on the Belfast to Stranraer route.

Northern Ireland Electricity has said it hopes to restore power to houses affected by last night’s gales before mid-afternoon.