A British military dog who protected troops by sniffing out explosives and insurgent fighters in Afghanistan has received the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

Certain bee species "love high up dark spaces".

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are to ask for more funds to extend their search, it has been reported.

Warehouse workers at retail giant Argos are to stage a three-week strike in a dispute over redundancy arrangements.

Police in the UK are appealing for mobile phone footage of a supermarket raid after the death of a suspected robber who was restrained by members of the public.

A victim of two former BBC radio presenters who assaulted under-age boys during sex sessions in woodland in England has said the acts were not "every schoolboy's dream".

A man who claims he was indecently assaulted as a 14-year-old boy by two former BBC radio presenters has told a court in England he recognised them instantly from a photograph after hearing news of their arrest.

British detectives working on the Madeleine McCann case are still pursuing "critical" leads as the 10th anniversary of her disappearance approaches, a Scotland Yard chief has revealed.

Liverpool fans yearn for the success enjoyed by the club in the 1980s, writes Brendan O’Brien.

Bestselling author Lucinda Reilly plans on spending less time in airports and more time at her West Cork hideaway, writes Ellie O’Byrne

An 11-year-old boy who was on the transplant waiting list almost his whole life has finally received a kidney from a stranger who saw his plight on social media.

Premiership footballer Stephen Ireland has told how he refused to let a broken leg stop him walking down the aisle.

Traffic in a British city centre has been brought to a standstill by a man who climbed a lamppost and refused to come down.

Even the world’s best drivers can benefit from a little help. Matt Joy talks to the man who’s taught half the current F1 grid and gets a few lessons in the art of speed

Heavy metal band Iron Maiden's Ed Force One plane has been damaged in an airport crash which left two people injured.

A man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in England.

SCOTLAND: A student and his dog donned graduation robes after the pet helped his owner complete his university degree.

Here's the best shows on TV tonight.

A mosque has collapsed with debris closing a nearby road.

Marks & Spencer has reported more dire trading for its clothing division after it was beset by online delivery problems and unseasonal weather conditions.

McVitie’s and Jaffa Cakes maker United Biscuits is to be swallowed up by Turkish food conglomerate Yildiz Holdings in a deal believed to be worth £2bn (€2.56bn), it was announced today.

A woman who was accused of targeting internet abuse at Madeleine McCann’s parents has been found dead in a hotel.

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have won £55,000 in libel damages from the Sunday Times over a story which suggested that they had kept evidence from authorities investigating their daughter’s disappearance.

In 1958, Michael Freer visited Dublin and met a woman called Bridie Fortune. 56 years later, he wants to find her again.

For 81-year old Cork-born actress Sheila Flitton ‘retirement’ is a dirty word. This energetic woman will perform her 30-year-old one woman show, Beezie at Powerscourt Theatre in Dublin from July 16-26.

British police have returned to Portugal to help interview suspects in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, according to reports.

A pall was cast over the sport of eventing at the weekend with the deaths of two riders while competing.

Northern Ireland’s chief constable will retire at the end of June, two months earlier than planned, he has announced.

Detectives from Scotland Yard are understood to have arrived in Portugal to help with the excavation of a number of sites as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Departing ‘X Factor’ judge Gary Barlow has admitted he might return to the singing show after failing to get an act in this weekend’s final.

Elephant does her best to say goodbye to circus

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Missing Ben Needham’s mother said she is “delighted” at the news that a blonde girl with blue eyes has been recovered from in a gypsy camp in Greece, the country where her own son was last seen.

The sister of a child who went missing in Greece more than 20 years ago says she wants her own DNA to be tested against that of a little girl found in a gypsy camp in the country in the off chance the girl is related to her missing brother.

Thousands of mourners yesterday attended a funeral prayer service for a mother and her three children who died in a suspected arson attack.

Cardiff 1 Newcastle 2

The final hopefuls who have made it to the judges houses stage of The X Factor were revealed tonight.

A neurosurgeon has spoken of his grief after his family was killed in a suspected arson attack as police continue to question five people over the fatal house fire.

Up to 130,000 people lined the quays of Dublin City as the world’s largest commercial aircraft roared overhead.

A Dublin neurosurgeon has spoken of his grief after his family was killed in a suspected arson attack as police continue to question five people over the fatal house fire.

The four family members of a Dublin surgeon killed in a recent house fire had no connections to a street attack in which a man was murdered, police have confirmed today.

The father of a 14-year-old girl who ended her life after enduring months of online bullying had told his daughter to stop using a controversial website in the run-up to her death.