Timing is everything in politics. There are signs that Fine Gael has got its timing badly wrong again in the run-up to local and European elections, now only nine days away.

A TEN-YEAR-OLD girl with a rare disorder which renders her barely able to speak is to receive vital treatment in Austria after residents of Cobh, Co Cork, raised €15,000 in two weeks for her care.

AUTISM research has hit a breakthrough point equivalent to the one that revolutionised the understanding and treatment of cancer 30 years ago, studies published this week claim.

Kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck appeared poised and stoic in his first major television interview after his four-year abduction.

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy hiking with his family has been attacked by a mountain lion in Boulder, Colorado. The cat was later killed by a wildlife officer.