Ecstatic opposition leaders vowed to use their new majority in Venezuela’s legislature to free jailed opponents of the Socialist government, but also said they would not move to dismantle popular welfare policies.

ITALY:  Pope Francis slipped out of the Vatican to make a surprise visit to a Rome optician’s shop to get a new pair of glasses, insisting that his old frames be reused and that he would pay for them.

Some top classics on telly.

Check out our spolier-free guide to Christmas Day TV.

Staging the box-office busting musical Shrek is a huge logistical challenge, writes Jo Kerrigan

Arial, Times New Roman ... and now the ‘Hugo Chavez’ font

A judge has pleaded ignorance to the existence of the multibillion-euro green ogre Shrek after hearing that a taunt related to the character sparked a pub row between extended family members.

HOME, 6.30pm, and I’m in the downstairs study where the Strictly Come Dancing theme tune is rapping out its staccato beat.

Children around the country are waiting expectantly for tonight's Late Late Toy Show on RTE One.

Novelist Jodi Picoult has written a book with her daughter. Hannah Stephenson reports

Amanda Holden has revealed her health has improved to such an extent she has been able to go running, just weeks after she was fighting for her life.

I’M VISITING my youngest sister.

IT’S a reflection, presumably, of our uncertainty about the world’s immediate future in these times of economic recessions and global warming, but Another Earth (12A) is the second film this year, after Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, to feature a new planet appearing in the solar system.

I must admit I was a bit wary of 'Puss in Boots', Dreamworks Animation's spin-off of its blockbuster 'Shrek' franchise.

Mike Myers has become a father for the first time.

FABIO CAPELLO is no longer “Shrek”. Unfortunately, Robert Earnshaw was the donkey after blowing a glorious chance to deny England victory at Wembley.

Fabio Capello is no longer “Shrek”. Unfortunately, Robert Earnshaw was the donkey after blowing a glorious chance to deny England victory at Wembley.

A global social networking site designed specifically for beautiful people has been hit by a 'Shrek' virus.

'American Pie' star Eugene Levy has been named the most embarrassing on-screen dad in a poll of film fans.

NEW Zealanders were mourning the loss of the country’s most famous sheep yesterday, a shaggy national icon named Shrek who was renowned for avoiding being shorn for years.

New Zealanders are mourning the loss of the country’s most famous sheep – a shaggy national star called Shrek, who was renowned for avoiding being shorn for years.

Mike Myers is to become a dad for the first time. The 'Shrek' star's wife Kelly Tisdale has been spotted with a prominent baby bump and is reportedly in the second trimester of her pregnancy.

A high-kicking Kung Fu Panda and a diary-toting Wimpy Kid joined the giant balloon lineup as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade unfolded today, drawing tens of thousands of spectators to the annual extravaganza on a chilly, overcast morning.

Mike Myers is reported to be the new voice of loveable cartoon skunk Pepe Le Pew.

Amanda Holden expects 'Britain's Got Talent' to replace 'The X Factor' next year, although she is unsure whether she will be taking part or not.

THE parents of the woman whom Wayne Rooney allegedly paid £1,200 a time for sex apologised to the footballer’s wife, Coleen, yesterday.

Cameron Diaz feels "safe" working with Tom Cruise

Louis Oosthuizen marked Nelson Mandela Day in exactly the way he dreamed of today – by becoming only the fourth South African ever to win The Open.

Cameron Diaz thinks ‘Knight and Day’ helped her through her grief at losing her father.

Sad to say that one of the funniest and best loved of the recent spate of animated classics is running out of steam … it’s still delivering fun and adventure but not in enough quantity to suggest it has much more to offer.

Cameron Diaz wishes she had given Fiona in ‘Shrek’ a British accent.

Cameron Diaz is not prepared for the end of ‘Shrek’.

Cameron Diaz doesn’t want anyone to know she is princess Fiona in Shrek.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be considering tying the knot.

IT’S all over, apparently. It’s fair to say the media has been a little patronising of late, like United were the dad and Liverpool the toddler: “ah, you wanna race me little fella? Okay. Look at you going full pelt, ooooh, you might just beat me” etc.

A BATTERED robot with his cockroach sidekick in a post-apocalyptic world are two of the characters to catch children’s imaginations in a compilation of movie favourites.

Angelina Jolie has conceded she will marry partner Brad Pitt one day, to keep their children happy.

DESPERATE to shed the look of a dial-up Dáil deputy hopelessly overtaken on the Bertieband information superhighway, Enda Kenny showed he was down with the Bebo kids yesterday by announcing the internet “is where the action is”.

'Shrek' is to be re-invented on the Broadway stage in a new musical.

Two computer games giants today announced plans to merge to create the world’s largest computer games publisher.

Back for another helping is 'Shrek the Third' (Paramount, €24.99), just in time for the Christmas market, proving once again there’s life in the old franchise yet.

Popular cartoon characters are being used to promote fatty, sugary, and salty foods to youngsters, a report out today warns.