THE SEANAD HAS PASSED the second stage of the Finance Bill, 28:21. The Seanad will meet again in the morning at 10.30am for further discussion on amendments to the Bill, before it passes back to the Dáil. The Dáil is due to convene tomorrow evening at 8pm, when it will take any recommendations generated in the Seanad. This morning, Taoiseach Brian Cowen confirmed that the Dáil will meet again on Tuesday before he goes to the Áras to seek its dissolution and confirm the general election date.
Broken baby toes and some of the worst excuses in sport
Rory McIlroy’s toothache is just the latest in a long line.
The Big Fat Christmas Chocolate Quiz
Calling all chocolate affecionados: do you really know your Quality Streets from your Roses? Only one way to find out…
5 things you didn’t know about Kim Jong Il
Get the lowdown on North Korea’s leader, from the quest for the perfect pizza to giant rabbits…
The Sunday Papers: the best of the week’s sportswriting
Stick a pot of coffee on and put your feet up. Here’s some gems you may have missed this week.
Fine Gael maintains lead as Martin polls well
Opinion polls in two of tomorrow’s newspapers show Fine Gael with a healthy lead – but Micheál Martin’s the most popular leader.
Martin concedes: FF could support FG minority government
The end of the Civil War? If Fine Gael pledge to enact the Four Year Plan, Fianna Fáil would return the Tallaght Strategy.
Two Pharaonic mummies destroyed in Egyptian protests
An army unit secured the Egyptian Museum in Central Cairo, but not before two mummies are ruined, reports say.
$21m NY lottery's Irish winner won after snow delays
Trisha Eisel, from Tullamore, bought her lottery ticket after her flight home for Christmas was cancelled by snow.
Buddhist monk faces five years for breaking smoking law
The monk is the first person to be charged under Bhutan’s anti-smoking legislation.
Men twice as likely to forgive girl-on-girl cheating
Half of men would forgive a girlfriend for cheating with another woman – and are more than twice as forgiving as women.
Trials day in Cheltenham as punters seek clearer picture
Cheltenham’s card has just survived an inspection and there’ll be plenty to glean from today’s action ahead of the March festival.
Torres looks for his only way out
It’s trophies not cash that motivate El Nino, writes Paul Ring.
Dáil unlikely to need summoning for Finance Bill
The Finance Bill will finish its passage through the Seanad today, allowing dozens of on-hold TDs to take Saturday night off.
Egypt's under-pressure president sacks cabinet and pledges reform
Muhammad Hosni Mubarak sacks his government and promises economic and political reforms, as protests continue.
Woman dies, and another injured, in separate Dublin fires
A 29-year-old woman dies in a fire in her apartment on Grenville St, while a 93-year-old is injured after a Donnybrook blaze.
The 9 at 9: Saturday
Nine things you need to know by 9am: Egypt’s under-fire president sacks his cabinet, woman dies in Dublin house fire, and why men are more likely to forgive cheating women…
Un-caged: tapping into Facebook
Brian Kirk is locked in an Octagon and he’s not coming out until we get answers on the latest UFC action.
The week in pictures…
Strike a pose. Here’s how the last seven days developed.
Nelson Mandela released from hospital
South African fears for Mandela’s health eased when news broke the 92-year-old had been released from hospital and was “well”.
No negotiation on bailout deal for Fine Gael and Barroso
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny says he didn’t travel to Brussels to negotiate, but did not indicate if Barroso had suggested rengotiation was on the table.
53 men, women, children raped in DRC in three days, says MSF
Humanitarian aid agency says the already-volatile situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated further, as new reports of mass rape emerge.
410 injured in continuing Cairo protests (Video, Photos)
Demonstrators target police vehicles and state offices as they defy curfew and stay on the streets of Cairo.
The week in photos
The week that was, in pictures.
Natasha McShane's recovery impeded by superbug
Irish student who was seriously assaulted in a late-night attack in Chicago last year has contracted a superbug after undergoing brain surgery.
Man convicted for murder of Joselita da Silva in Tullamore
Brazilian man stabbed his flatmate to death at their home in Co Offaly in 2009.
On his way: Liverpool agree €26.5million Suarez transfer
Reds get their man at last as Ajax accept latest offer.
Take 5: Friday
5 minutes, 5 stories ,5 o’clock.
Brazilian man kept wife locked in cellar for at least 8 years
Meanwhile, he allegedly live in the house upstairs with another woman. Police found his wife naked and locked in filthy basement after anonymous tip-off.
Five steps to heaven: an unlikely route to a fortune
Bertie’s in Fagan’s buying a round for the lads. Ivor’s heading for West Cork with a bit of Springsteen on the stereo. Enda and Noonan are on the town in Brussels. Here’s how to never work again.
NI X-ray delay meant two late cancer diagnosis cases
A major backlog of X-ray delays in the Northern Irish health system meant at least there two late diagnoses of cancer.
Revenue laptops stolen
Office of the Revenue Commissioners says laptops are encrypted, but it will investigate what kind of information was stored on them and how secure it is.
Dublin dad gets car back through Facebook
Warren Coakley says you shouldn’t underestimate the power of Facebook, after someone who saw a status update about the theft located the stolen vehicle.
Sean Kelly An Post team get in the saddle
Four Irish riders are set for another year in the peloton with Sean Kelly’s An Post team.
Bertie and his Bowl left out in the cold by Martin and FF
Micheal Martin dismisses Bertie’s “obsession” with National Stadium as Fianna Fail says Ahern interview is “irrelevant” to the future of the party in Election 2011.
The top four Super Bowl upsets
Steven O’Rourke takes a look at the biggest shocks in Super Bowl history.
Tourism chiefs unveil 20,000-job revival plan
The ‘Tourism Opportunity’ confederation launches a report promising jobs if we change how we market Ireland.
Already out of Italy trip, Tommy Bowe is now a worry for France game
Ospreys physio is not optimistic of winger facing France a week after trip to Italy.
Ivor's Seanad finale: "The truth shall set you free"
The controversial Senator retires in the same way he lived: annoying pretty much everyone else in Seanad Éireann.
Poll: Should we have built a National Stadium?
Bertie Ahern says he regrets not securing a National Stadium in his tenure. Do you think we should have built one?
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