USA: A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the line at a drive-through restaurant.

ENGLAND: A tough army officer hopes he has put an end to the stigma attached to men sewing after finishing in the top three of a nationwide competition.

Christmas mince pies from budget supermarket Aldi have trumped brands almost eight times more expensive in an annual taste test by UK consumer group Which?.

A Kinsale-based company has proved pick of the bunch at this year’s Great Taste Awards.

MUSIC NEWS: Nile Rodgers seems to be in so many places at the moment you shouldn’t be surprised if he pops his head out of your fridge when you reach for that cold drink later today.

Behind the clockwork-efficiency of the state dinner for Queen Elizabeth lay tales of last-minute mercy flights to Dublin, six-hour dashes across the country with smoked salmon and ‘forever secret’’ ingredients. Pól Ó Conghaile gets the real story

Organisers of a huge protest against the UK government’s public spending cuts tonight hailed the demonstration a “fantastic success” after hundreds of thousands of people joined the biggest event of its kind for over 20 years.

EIGHT Irish food companies are among those first in line for the overall prizes in Britain’s foremost food competition, the 2010 Great Taste Awards.

The former Chilean dictator remained stubbornly opposed to any efforts to bring him to trial, writes Chris Moncrieff.

Shares in Selfridges are set for further gains this week as more potential bidders for the department stores group emerged over the weekend.