A woman who set fire to an apartment, killing two men, had to be dragged by gardaí to safety still clutching a bottle of cider.

A woman, who set fire to an apartment during a binge-drinking session, killing two of her friends, was pulled by gardaí from the burning building drunk and still clutching a bottle of cider.

A 15-year jail term, with the last five years suspended, was imposed on a young woman for setting fire to an apartment building in Mallow causing the deaths of two of her friends, writes Liam Heylin.

A 28-year-old woman confessed yesterday to the manslaughter of two men who died in a house fire in Mallow in north Cork almost two years ago, and she also pleaded guilty to arson.

A woman has been charged with two counts of manslaughter, and one of arson, following a fire in which two men died, in the Cork town of Mallow.

British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley said today that profits virtually halved last year after an "eventful and difficult" period for the banking sector.

UK mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley today sold £4.2bn (€5.8bn) of loans as it moved to boost cash reserves at a time of soaring wholesale funding costs.