A businesswoman who started a firm by using fire hose waste to create ladies handbags and belts was one of the speakers at a major entrepreneurial event.

Twenty-two year-old Helen Kearney claimed an individual bronze medal for Ireland at the European Para Dressage Championships in Belgium today.

Countries at the forefront of the “Arab Spring” will receive more financial and political backing under plans being floated by Barack Obama and David Cameron.

A former top official of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard, and cousin of the deposed leader, surrendered to coalition forces in Baghdad today, the US military said.

Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has made a dramatic U-turn over her criticism of British men, claiming it was all just a “misunderstanding”.