TORN between reality and their political dreams, leading conservatives are defending Mitt Romney against attacks on his work in the private sector even as they search for a more palatable candidate amid a growing sense that his nomination looks certain.

A Galway woman who is currently eight months pregnant will be sentenced on Wednesday for the manslaughter of a neighbour whom she stabbed to death two years ago in a drunken row over a puppy.

IRELAND must keep its low tax rates to maximise its attractiveness for foreign investors, the head of the US Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.