Dean Fitzpatrick’s father has described how his “world came crashing down” after hearing that his son had been “brutally killed” by David Mahon.

Ukrainian separatists carried out sporadic attacks on government forces as the New Year began, wounding three soldiers, the Kiev military said, as President Petro Poroshenko told the nation to brace for a year that would “not be easy”.

Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is a leading foe of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has been found guilty of fraud and given a suspended sentence of three-and-a-half years.

Embattled French President Francois Hollande is to face the media today for the first time since news of his alleged affair with a actress became public.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is confident Arsenal’s mean defensive streak can see them come out on top in the race for the Premier League title.

“THIS festival has been a beacon in the traditional music calendar,” said traditional fiddler Paddy Glackin on Monday night at the last Frankie Kennedy Winter School in Donegal.

The death of a teenager on New Year’s Eve is being treated as murder, the PSNI have said.

A distraught woman has made an urgent appeal for the return of an urn containing her parents’ ashes which was stolen by a burglar who raided her house while she slept.

MANY of us this week may have at last broken a self-imposed winter training ban of our own after an extended Christmas period.

PJ Gibbons and Colette Sheridan ask a bunch of celebrities to reveal their plans for tonight, and to reflect on the year gone by

A murdered politician accidentally captured his killer in a photograph just as he was about to be shot.

LIVERPOOL manager Roy Hodgson has apologised for his perceived criticism of fans but has told supporters he will not resign over poor performances.

ONE person died and three others are seriously injured in hospital after car accidents.

Russia set a minimum price for vodka today more than doubling the cost of the cheapest drinks in an effort to fight rampant alcoholism.

Fidel Castro said US President Barack Obama “misinterpreted” his brother Raul’s sentiments toward the United States.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang in a display of might and loyalty underscoring their government’s guiding “military first” principle amid tensions with rival South Korea

Two baby girls mistakenly swapped at birth have gone home to their proper parents in time for their first birthdays.

A 36-year-old woman stabbed her husband at their home in Cork on New Year’s Eve after he was violent towards the family, it was claimed today as she was put on trial for his manslaughter.

Ukraine’s energy minister is to hold urgent talks with Russia today after being threatened with a cut in gas supplies.

MEDIA images of a hangman’s noose used in the execution of Saddam Hussein have distressed relatives of suicide victims who hanged themselves, it was claimed yesterday.

DESPITE a highly publicised road safety campaign, there was a sad start to the new year for three families across the country as three young people lost their lives in road accidents in the first few hours of 2005.

NEW YEAR revellers sent and received a whopping 35 million text messages in just three hours on New Year’s Eve.

Former Sweden striker Henrik Larsson has trained with Manchester United for the first time.

South Korea’s president lashed out today at hardliners in Washington seeking to force the collapse of North Korea’s totalitarian regime, as the Foreign Ministry criticised a US account of a meeting on preventing criminal activity by the North.

The renaissance of Marks & Spencer continued today with healthy Christmas sales – but the retailer warned that rising costs would dog its future performance.

Wall Street extended its New Year’s rally today, as investors interpreting a slowdown in monthly job recruitment as a precursor to the end of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

US stocks managed to extend their New Year’s rally to a third session on Wall Street today, edging higher in erratic trading as the tech sector rebounded on bullish news from chip maker Xilinx Inc.

THE country went text message mad on New Year’s Eve, spending millions of euro as people sent each other simple greetings by mobile phone.

Airports operator BAA today remained on track to handle 6% more passengers than a year ago even though traffic slowed in the run-up to Christmas.

US stocks were mixed in a listless session today as investors collected profits for a second day despite an unexpected drop in unemployment claims.

Deadly bombings in Baghdad and Indonesia and fear of terrorism in the United States, Britain, Israel and elsewhere cast shadows over New Year celebrations around the world.

A car bomb ripped through an elegant Baghdad restaurant crowded with diners at a New Year’s Eve party killing five Iraqis and wounding 35 others, including at least one Briton and two Americans.

Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are expected to return to their award-winning roles in The Producers as the highest paid actors in Broadway history.

A man arrested in Co Kerry in connection with the murder of a man in Birmingham was today remanded in custody.

Investors’ anticipation of a tax cut reignited the New Year’s rally on Wall Street today, sending stocks higher and lifting the Dow Jones industrials more than 170 points.

An unnamed US official has claimed that a Palestinian militant who has evaded intelligence agencies for years has become the new chief of operations in the al-Qaida network.

Wall Street meandered through a lacklustre session today, unimpressed by better-than-expected retail sales and a drop in unemployment claims that indicated the US economy might be turning around.

Most Europeans fear they will be cheated when the euro arrives in tills at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

The Gardai overtime bill is set to hit an all time high because of a massive security operation to get Euros into tills and cash registers across the country by midnight on New Year’s Eve.