A public schoolboy who caused £40m of damage to the local economy by throwing firebombs on to a motorway in England has been detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Thousands of British motorists and passengers were again stranded for up to 12 hours while bomb disposal experts tackled a mysterious hazard on the carriageway.

An army sergeant has appeared in a British court accused of the attempted murder of his wife after her main parachute failed to open during a 4,000ft jump.

An announcer built up a head of steam after a packed train in England was delayed as a result of a carriage window being broken.

Rebelling against her parent’s wishes that she attend Trinity College Dublin, Averil joined the Irish Times as a cub reporter. 

Eddie Jones will hold talks with Chris Robshaw early in his reign as England head coach as he searches for a captain in the image of New Zealand great Richie McCaw to embody the values of his team.

The family of US school gunman Chris Harper-Mercer have described their shock after the 26-year-old killed at least nine people before being fatally shot.

Oil traded near the lowest level in more than six years yesterday as an unexpected rise in US crude stockpiles exacerbated a global glut.

A driving instructor has been jailed for 32 months for carrying out sexual assaults on two of his teenage pupils.

The largely unsettled forecast for much of today could signal a damp end to the summer, if the St Swithin’s Day myth is to be believed.

GERMANY: This could be Germany’s very own Watergate. The German spy agency’s new headquarters was flooded by water after several taps were removed by thieves on its upper floors, police said.

There you are, heading out on a nice afternoon cycle through the countryside, when all of a sudden, BOOM - daytime techno rave.

‘Make’, a symposium on ‘making’ in art, technology and science, is at the CIT Cork School of Music on March 7.

An Irish wood pellet boiler manufacturer has increased turnover by 500%, boosted by British government alternative energy incentives. And in the three years since it was set up, it has sold just one boiler in Ireland, writes Trish Dromey.

Alcoholics given beer as incentive to drink less

I HAVE been doing some research recently into the history of angling in Ireland for a television production company, and in the course of it I was re-introduced to a fascinating character, Viscount Grey of Fallodon.

Competition for jobs in the UK has eased, but more than 70 people are still chasing every vacancy in parts of the country, according to a new report.

The bodies of three of the four oil workers who died when a helicopter plunged into the North Sea have been brought back to the mainland.

The BBC has postponed a planned documentary about naked rambler Stephen Gough after his arrest for breaching an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) that bans him from baring all in public.

A Jane Austen museum has launched an appeal to raise £152,450 (€114,570) to keep a ring once owned by the famous author in Britain after it was bought by a US popstar.

Andy Burrows is happy to have left the tensions of his former band Razorlight behind, says Ed Power

From storage boxes to sheds, Kya de Longchamps lists the pros and cons of cheaper and more expensive options

A four-year-old girl has been accepted into Mensa after achieving a score of 159 on an IQ test, just a point less than science genius Stephen Hawking.

A four-year-old girl in Britain has been accepted into Mensa after achieving a score of 159 on an IQ test.

Oil fell for a third day after government data showed US inventories rose to the highest level in more than five months and on expectations that the Federal Reserve will not take new action to bolster the economy.

An amateur dramatic group in the UK said today the show must go on after their pantomime dame collapsed and died from a heart attack during a performance of 'Dick Whittington'.

OIL dropped for a second day in New York as US equities declined on a decrease in JPMorgan Chase & Co’s earnings and crude supplies increased more than forecast.

A 178-year-old tortoise is believed to be the world's oldest living animal.

The Atlantic

It was not quite the one Richard Hannon expected to strike, but the two-year-old master still managed to claim the Louis And Valerie Freedman Maiden Fillies' Stakes at Newbury.

A man killed his wife, two young children and mother-in-law in their suburban home after a family argument.

Actor Christopher Cazenove died after a “valiant battle” with septicaemia, his family said.

THE ESB is planning to invest up to €2 billion building up a strong presence in the British electricity market over the next decade, according to chief executive Padraig McManus.

John Coupland bettered his total for 2009 in one fell swoop as Tanley (9-1) won division one of the Bet Test Match Cricket – Betdaq Handicap at Lingfield.

A FORMER handyman abducted and murdered two teenage girls within 18 months of his marriage breaking up, jurors heard yesterday.

THE other evening, venturing forth after the deluges, I walked out of a meadow into the half-darkness of an old beech wood.

Paul McCartney today described the making of his new album, saying: “We just made it up as we went along.”

AN ENCOURAGING draw for Aidan O’Brien’s Duke of Marmalade saw the five-time Group One winner shortened in the market for Saturday night’s $5 million (€3.82m) Breeders’ Cup Classic.

NOEL MEADE’S Skylancer can take the second division of the Charlie Chute Memorial Maiden Hurdle at the final stage of the Listowel Festival this afternoon.

House prices in three university towns have more than doubled during the past five years, figures showed today.

THE death of British teenager Cara Marie Burke is a chilling reminder of other murder cases where the bodies of victims’ have been stuffed into suitcases.

The big three contenders for Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh are among a field of 14.

The big three contenders for Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh are among a field of 14.

Check our tips for selected courses from today's horse racing events across Ireland and in the United Kingdom.

Last week’s Dundalk winner The Fist Of God could be in line for a substantial rise in class in Sunday’s Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes at the Curragh.

THE most interesting horse on view at Cork this evening is Salford City, who makes his debut over fences in the Fleetwood and Coolgown Beginners Chase.

House prices in cities in the North have more than doubled during the past five years, outperforming growth in the rest of the UK, figures showed today.