The French police officer who swapped himself for a female supermarket employee being held hostage had already received a lifetime of accolades by the time he walked unarmed into the store under attack by an extremist gunman.

Rebels in eastern Ukraine appear to be successfully closing in on the government-held airport in Donetsk, a strategic victory for the pro-Russian separatists that further undermines a shaky ceasefire in the region.

A 51-year-old man who raped a young girl on several occasions in County Roscommon and who told gardaí it was “just a compulsion” has been jailed for eight years.

Michael Dods has his team in good form and is hoping for better things from Tiger Reigns after watching him get home in game fashion at Ripon today.

Osama bin Laden, the man suspected of having masterminded the terrorist attacks on the US, is under house arrest, it was claimed today.