Ruby Wax is back on the road – and her live show sees her share the stage with a monk and a neuroscientist. Intrigued? So was Pat Fitzpatrick...

In this age of not so much creeping globalisation as remorseless, relentless globalisation, the importance of shopping local scarcely needs to be emphasised. Thankfully geographical serendipity makes it easy for your correspondent to do his bit.

Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos has been buried at a heroes' cemetery in a secrecy-shrouded ceremony.

A new exhibition exploring our obsession with shoes opens today at the V&A. Suzanne Harrington ditches the heels and takes a look.

Forget about heels, flat shoes are having a moment, so Michelle Murphy is finding it easier to cope with heels not being for her

Rose Mary Roche looks at why we own so many pairs, covet more — and don’t even wear half of those we own.

Amy Huberman has joined a string of other celebs such as Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker by launching her own line of shoes.

FOOTWEAR consultant and author William A Rossi says “most women prefer a trip to hell in high heels than to walk flat-heeled to heaven”.

MY DAUGHTER comes into the kitchen from the sitting room, where she’s been watching Snog, Marry, Avoid, and asks me why there are so few women politicians.

WORRIED eyes turned towards Philadelphia these past few days, knowing the news was bad, hoping without logic that Joe Frazier could beat the odds one more time. Outside the boxing community, however, concern was muted.

MARIE Antoinette tottered to the guillotine in hers, Marilyn Monroe claimed all women should be grateful to whoever invented them, Victoria Beckham says she “can’t concentrate” without hers and Holly Willoughby even wears them to bed.

The son of Corazon Aquino had a wide lead in the Philippines’ presidential elections today after campaigning on a promise to restore the government’s credibility by prosecuting corrupt officials.

Millions of Filipinos seeking a clean start after a decade of corruption-tainted politics voted in elections today despite scattered violence and glitches with vote-counting machines being used for the first time.

Miguel Syjuco

IN a beautiful place called Tagaytay, just south of Manila in the Philippines, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos built a magnificent, if ostentatious, hideaway known locally as the Palace in the Sky. It is built on a hill overlooking the famous Lake Taal with its multiple islands, volcanoes and lush green surrounds.

Eight hundred pairs of shoes donated by former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos were rescued from floods that devastated the country.

THOUSANDS of mourners paid their last respects to former Philippine president Corazon Aquino yesterday, lining up to file past her coffin in silent tribute to the “People Power” democracy leader.

Cancer-stricken former Philippine President Corazon Aquino remains in a stable condition in hospital, but is no longer in intensive care, her spokeswoman said today.

From the man in Colombia who was named after the King of Pop, to Malaysians who named a soya drink for him, to a generation of people around the world who have tried to moonwalk, the news stunned the world.

This crisis, however, is making us think for ourselves, and think in new ways. There is real anger, not only at the criminal greed of senior bankers, but at the whole system which promised to deliver eternal growth, and then abruptly fell apart and plunged us towards depression

A Philippine court today acquitted the flamboyant widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos of 32 counts of illegally transferring wealth abroad during her husband's 20-year rule.

Bono says he is the "Imelda Marcos of sunglasses" and claims he wears shades most of the time in public because he has "very sensitive eyes to light".

Representatives of Christie’s auction house today began appraising jewellery seized from the widow of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos for auction in Europe as early as November.

THE problem about being given a goat in Africa is getting it home.

Imelda Marcos has been banned from attending the funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan by a Philippine court.

TEARFUL, lame, but unbowed, Imelda Marcos said yesterday that she loved her country and would never run away, as government lawyers tried to have the former first lady arrested for returning late from a foreign trip.

A headmistress jailed for stealing up to £500,000 (€720,000) from her school to fund a lavish lifestyle has admitted being naive and stupid, but insists she is innocent.

A HEADMISTRESS who stole up to £500,000 (€700,000) from her school to fund a Champagne lifestyle was jailed for five years yesterday.

A British headmistress who stole up to £500,000 (€715,000) from her school to fund a Champagne lifestyle was jailed for five years today.

THE biggest statue that late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos built to immortalise himself was blown up yesterday.

Cliff Richard has emerged ahead of The Beatles, Queen and John Lennon in a poll to find the world’s most popular song.

The Philippines' main anti-corruption court has issued an arrest warrant for former first lady Imelda Marcos.