The prevalence of sexual violence has reached "epic proportions" in South Sudan during its civil war, the UN Commission on Human Rights said.

Cruel Heart Broken by Emma Haughton (Usborne, €8.40)

Some of the stranger stories from around the world

THE bestselling author of Tell No One returns with a new thriller.

Whoopi Goldberg is on a mission to help people feel better — by launching her own range of medical marijuana goods.

Swift hadn’t played the song live since September 2012.

Studio Ghibli, Bourne, and a Cilla Black tribute are among the gems on TV tonight

The Central Statistics Office has compiled, for the first time this year, a list of Ireland’s most popular surnames.

Fota Wildlife Park have welcomed a new baby tapir and they want us to name him.

Southampton have been hit by the news that defender Toby Alderweireld will miss up to four weeks with a hamstring strain.

The Sudanese woman imprisoned for refusing to reject Christianity has said she was resolved to keep her faith even if it meant death.

The shirt a US Navy SEAL wore in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is being displayed at the 9/11 museum in New York.

Lisa Jewell

Maya Angelou was gratified, but not surprised by her extraordinary fortune.

Your daily, spoiler-free guide to what to look out for on the box.

Five flights in 45 hours via five countries with two kids under four, all heading to New Zealand. Caroline Hennessy presents her ‘long haul travel with kids‘ survival guide.

Ryanair has stepped in to reunite a mother with her twin daughters for Christmas.

It was a day she thought would never happen. But thanks to the generosity of the Irish public, her Christmas miracle has come true.

The mother of twin girls born with the same medical condition, who raised €34,000 in just three days to fund a vital procedure abroad, is making final arrangements for their trip to a UK hospital.

A devoted mum who set out to raise €34,000 in 10 days to fund vital procedures for her sick twin girls has issued a heartfelt 'thank you' after a flood of donations helped her reach her target last night.

The man who established the world’s first interactive ambulance service for sick children has offered to transport twins born with a rare life-threatening condition to London for a vital procedure.

It’s just the backing she needed in her race against time for a Christmas miracle.

Brazilian wild man Carlos Burle has just ridden what many are saying is the biggest wave of all time.

Insane footage shows the world's ballsiest big wave riders take on the biggest waves ever. Now with added Carmina Burana.

The complex where the apartment is located is so exclusive actresses and socialites have been refused permission to move into the building.

Our top baby names prove yet again that, when it comes to christening our children, we’re an intrinsically unimaginative nation.

Peter Sagan has learned the hard way you keep your hands to yourself.

Opening early in 1865, as the American Civil War is entering its endgame, Lincoln (12A) offers a detailed account of how recently re-elected president Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) rammed the 13th constitutional amendment — the emancipation of the slaves — through Congress.

The political brouhaha that continues to dog Kathryn Bigelow’s dramatisation of the hunt for Osama bin Laden might have cost her an Oscar nomination.

Jessica Chastain admits making 'Zero Dark Thirty' was "intense".

IN the final scene of Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s heart-stopping thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Maya, a CIA operative and the movie’s heroine, is strapped into a seat on a military transport plane staring into the middle distance, looking depleted.

Mayan priests started off ceremonies aimed at marking the end of the current era in the Mayan long-count calendar today, with dancing, incense and rituals designed to thank the gods.

IF SOMEONE said Hirwaun was a sleepy village in a southeast Asian country, you might believe it.

Nicki Minaj wanted to "kill" her father when she was growing up.

Uma Thurman is reportedly expecting a baby girl.

Uma Thurman is reportedly pregnant with her third child.

CHE GOLDEN

Jason Lee has married his wife for a second time.

IT’S been dubbed the slowest car chase in history. Caroline Turner, 76, powered along at 10mph in her Ford Fiesta, driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway as a fleet of Essex police patrol cars “chased” her at a snail’s pace for 27 miles last Tuesday.

Ethan Hawke has become a dad for the fourth time.

The Concert Ticket

Ethan Hawke is going to become a father again.