A man with an £18,000 (€22,500) cannabis farm in his front room was arrested after accidentally dialling 999 from the house.

US insurance company Assurant Solutions has confirmed it is to pull out of Cork with the loss of up to 170 jobs.

170 jobs are to go at insurance company Assurant Solutions.

There are fears for the future of 170 jobs at the Cork branch of a global insurance services provider.

Belfast’s Ruaidhri McGee returned to the top of the leaderboard on the European Tour qualifying school in Cheshire yesterday — and looks certain to move into the second stage.

Paul McGinley continues to make it clear that he will be his own man when attempting to mastermind Europe’s Ryder Cup defence at Gleneagles next year.

Manchester United dodged a Galatasaray welcome committee in Istanbul last night — but Alex Ferguson insists a return to ‘Hell’ poses no problems.

Three Irish golfers, Peter O’Keeffe (Muskerry), Damian Mooney (Ballyliffin) and Mark Staunton (Ballinasloe), take part in the first European Tour School at the Roxburghe Hotel, Kelso, Scotland today.

Shinji Kagawa is confident he has the mental strength to cope with the attention of being Japan’s first Manchester United player.

A jury in Britain has begun deliberations in the trial of two footballers accused of raping a woman who was “too drunk to consent” to sex.

Arsonist bridegroom Max Kay said he was “out of control” and “mashed up” when he decided to set fire to the hotel where he had just got married.

British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey today said housing market conditions have remained robust despite the continued drought in mortgage lending.

UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw denied plotting to remove British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today after claims in a book that he told colleagues that Brown “had to go”.

Workers at computer giant Fujitsu are to stage a series of strikes in a long-running row over jobs, pay and pensions, it was announced today.

Workers at computer giant Fujitsu are to stage six strikes in a row over job cuts, a pay freeze and pension changes, it was announced today.

The 10-year-old grandson of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson underwent surgery last night after being involved in a car crash with his mother and sister.

Administrators for music, DVD and games retailer Zavvi said more than 200 jobs were secured tonight after a deal with HMV – but the news came after hundreds of the firm’s employees lost their jobs in further store closures.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suffered a devastating blow today when Labour succumbed to one of the biggest by-election upsets in political history.

Gordon Brown has marked his first anniversary in No 10 with the humiliation of seeing Labour beaten into fifth place in the Henley-on-Thames by-election.

David Cameron’s UK Conservatives today won a spectacular victory in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, seizing the formerly safe Labour seat by a margin of almost 8,000 votes.

VOTING was under way yesterday in a key by-election in northwest England which is expected to deal a fresh blow to Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing another disastrous setback in next week's crucial by-election battle, according to polls.

The British Labour Party is less popular than ever, according to a new opinion poll.

Ken Livingstone’s defeat in the race for London mayor put the seal today on a disastrous set of elections for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Police in the North are continuing to question the brother of a man whose body was found in a car in north Belfast yesterday.

There’s only one Elvis Presley – but an awful lot of Elvis impersonators.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed the imminent arrival of fellow Scandinavian Henrik Larsson has sent a ripple of anticipation through Manchester United’s star-studded dressing room.

ALEX FERGUSON has targeted at least one more Champions League triumph before he eventually quits as Manchester United manager.

Alan Smith will start his first game since recovering from horrific injuries sustained at Liverpool last season when Carling Cup holders Manchester United begin the defence of their trophy at Crewe.

Norwich striker Dean Ashton has turned his back on a move back to the Barclays Premiership and signed a one-year extension to his contract.

It seems Leicester striker David Connolly’s brilliant hat-trick performance in City’s 4-2 demolition of Stoke was even better than it looked.

Hotel Management specialist, Prem Group has announced a €350m investment programme and plans to open 18 new hotels in Ireland and 50 in the UK in the next five years.

The Football Association have maintained there was nothing out of the ordinary with Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy beginning his three-match suspension with last night’s Carling Cup third-round tie at Crewe.

Rio Ferdinand has claimed yesterday’s controversial win over Arsenal will count for nothing unless Manchester United beat Portsmouth at the weekend.

Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell hopes to complete the signing of West Brom’s Sean Gregan in time for Saturday’s trip to Crewe.

Former Leeds United striker Brian Deane may be set for a return to Elland Road after travelling to Sweden with the rest of the squad for their pre-season tour.

The number 13 proved unlucky for Sunderland midfielder Colin Healy when he was forced to withdraw from the Ireland squad for tomorrow’s friendly clash with Canada.

Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy is keeping his fingers crossed over influential defender Gary Breen after the initial results of a scan suggested that his knee injury is not serious.

Two people in a van were seriously injured today in a level crossing accident in which a passenger train was derailed in the UK.

France’s Gregory Havret ended almost two years of misery in the inaugural Nordic Open in Copenhagen today.

HARRY KEWELL has been ruled out of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the Far East after the results of a scan yesterday revealed ligament damage to his left ankle.

Birdies and eagles were the order of the day again at the Canaries Spanish Open in Tenerife today – but overnight leaders Paul Casey and Miles Tunnicliff both missed out at the start of their third rounds.

Four children were taken to hospital tonight after their coach was involved in an accident on a motorway in the UK.

Cheltenham pulled off arguably the shock result of the Worthington Cup first round by dumping Norwich out of the Worthington Cup.