SHAME on Tom Parlon for voting with the Government on the disease levy on farmers.

NORTH KOREA yesterday accused the United States of planning an invasion and vowed to fight "to the last man," hours after it expelled two UN monitors, leaving its feared nuclear program shrouded in secrecy.

THE family of an Irish oil worker kidnapped in Ecuador fear he is dead after authorities in the South American country said they were now searching for two bodies.

INVESTORS did not use the run-up to the Budget to make big increases in their special savings incentive account (SSIAs).

THE reduced number of work-related fatalities this year has led to fears that safety standards may fall next year as a result.

CONSUMERS are set for a long-lasting hangover this new year, as the headache of a series of price hikes on many goods and services kicks in today.

ABSENTEEISM cost Irish businesses more than €112m last year, according to the Small Firms Association.

BRITISH homeowners hit

THE lack of child-friendly interview rooms in garda stations is having a negative effect on the investigation of sex abuse cases, according to a study.

LEEDS UNITED manager Terry Venables hopes to hang on to his leading players when the English transfer window opens today, and that includes wantaway striker Robbie Fowler.

RISING rents in private accommodation without a rise in State assistance are making more people homeless, according to Focus Ireland.

AS the European Year of the Disabled dawns, our exposé on Ireland’s treatment of disabled people reveals that while public attitudes have undergone a welcome transformation little has changed in the State’s hard hearted approach to this vital question.

ULSTER keyman David Humphreys has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the side's Heineken Cup game against Biarritz on December 14 and will lead the province against Munster in the Celtic League semi-final at Thomond Park on Friday night, kick-off 7. 35.

THE son of a Kerryman and a Donegal woman was last night crowned Britain's Brainiest Kid with an IQ higher than quizmaster Carol Vorderman.

A COUPLE miraculously escaped without injury when an explosion demolished the garage of their two-storey home on the outskirts of Limerick City yesterday morning.

UN arms inspectors fanned out yesterday to eight sites suspected of involvement in the making of banned weapons, as an Iraqi Cabinet minister warned the United States of "the heaviest losses" if it attacks.

BRIAN McENIFF accepted the invitation to become Donegal manager for the sixth time, reluctantly, after the county board suffered eight rejections.

SINGER-actress Diana Ross was yesterday arrested for drunk driving in southern Arizona, police said.

FORMER SDLP leader John Hume telephoned Dublin to suggest the mass recruitment of northern nationalists into the Irish army in the hours following Bloody Sunday, files released to the National Archives today show.

Cardinal Desmond Connell’s concern for the individual marks him out as a man of integrity and loyalty.

A WILDLIFE park was celebrating a little monkey business yesterday with the arrival of two babies who will bolster a species considered to be one of the most endangered in the world.

A HOMELESS shelter that allows residents to freely drink on the premises has opened in Dublin, the first in Ireland.

WHILE the fall in the number of work-related fatal accidents in 2002 is to be welcomed, the death toll of fifty seven people, including six children, provides a graphic illustration of the need for heightened safety in the work place.

ARSENE WENGER has given his Arsenal side a new year challenge of exceeding their Double-winning achievements of 2002.

WORKING at a computer for hours is bad for your mental health, research shows. Up to five hours a day working on a computer increases the risk of depression.

SECONDARY schools could be in for more disruption as the ASTI teachers' union decides its next move in the row over supervision and substitution.

LOCAL councillors could be given powers to control pub opening hours as part of a radical shake-up of the drinks industry.

NEWCASTLE will head into today’s vital Premiership clash with Liverpool and the opening weeks of the new year without midfield dynamo Gary Speed.

Wall Street ended its third straight losing year on a mixed note as investors' hopes of a resurgent economy were stifled by fears of terrorism, war and several accounting scandals.

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has once again pledged his future to the north London club.

It is the first day of 2003.

A man is being treated in hospital following an apparent paramilitary style shooting in Belfast.

The Taoiseach says the current generation of Irish people has the opportunity to realise the dreams of the founding fathers of the state.

An American man who changed his name to Jack Ass is suing the makers of US stunt show Jackass - for giving him a bad name.

More community based sentences should be used to deal with those convicted of minor offences.

A new driving licence, the size of a credit card, could be implemented here in Ireland before the end of the year.

People with disabilities are demanding better recognition in 2003. It has been designated European year of people with disabilities.

Gardai in Kilkenny have arrested a man in connection with the death of a woman in the city earlier this month.

The SDLP has claimed that some Irish retailers are importing plastic bags into the Republic and charging the 15 cent tax without returning it to the Irish Exchequer.

A murder investigation has been launched following the shooting of a man at his home in Co Clare.

A man has been rescued after falling into a fast flowing river in Co Donegal.

The British government was seriously considering repartitioning the North in 1972 to create a Protestant state.

Hollywood film studios are set to announce another record year of box office sales.

The United States is sending thousands more soldiers to Kuwait in the largest single ground deployment to the Persian Gulf since the war there in 1991, it was reported today.

Arsenal have been told by Leeds that goalkeeper Paul Robinson will cost £12m (€18.4m), claims The Sun.

Tottenham hope to sign Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes on a unusual loan deal, reports the Daily Express.

A young man has been fatally stabbed in Waterford in the early hours of this morning.

Gardai in Co Kerry are investigating the death of a man in a motorbike crash near Waterville at around 6.30am this morning.

The Assistant Director of the Merchant's Quay Project in Dublin is warning that the substance abuse problem in the rest of the country may be worse than many people realise.

Minister of State, Willie O'Dea, is predicting that changes in the legislation governing pubs and other licensed premises will be in effect within the next year and a half.

Pope John Paul opened 2003 today with a fresh call for an end to the “fratricidal and senseless” conflict in the Middle East.

UN arms inspectors hunting for evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq today kicked off 2003 with visits to a missile maintenance facility and a truck repair workshop.

Fulham have called off their Premiership clash with West Brom after the Loftus Road pitch failed an inspection.

Gardai have released the name of the elderly woman who died in a house fire in Co Louth yesterday afternoon.

Today's meeting at Cheltenham has been given the go ahead after just 2.4mm of rain fell overnight.

Russell Crowe may return for a sequel to hit movie Gladiator, despite his character dying in the first film.

Paul Nicholls is considering a change of plan for Cenkos and the trainer may now give his Queen Mother Champion Chase candidate an outing at Kempton before the Cheltenham Festival.

The Vines have been ordered to fly back to Australia for emergency rest after an onstage brawl.

The prospect of unanimous United Nations Security Council backing for war in Iraq was thrown into doubt today with the accession of Germany to one of the Council’s ten permanent seats.

Newcastle's Craig Bellamy has launched a passionate defence of controversial team-mate Laurent Robert.

Henrietta Knight is preparing an assault on the big staying chases this spring with Chives and Southern Star.

A TV advert for Marmite is to feature the first ever same-sex kiss shown in a commercial.

Israeli soldiers destroyed the homes of two Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip today.

One of two tiny South Pacific islands cut off from the world for days by a massive cyclone has been left devastated, a New Zealand cameraman said after flying over it today.

Police in the United States are investigating the death of a Roman Catholic priest whose body was found just days after he was accused of molesting a boy nearly 30 years ago.

Nine people were killed in a New Year’s Eve grenade attack in the southern Philippines, including a 14-year-old.

Police were today working to discover whether body parts found in carrier bags and bin liners behind a pub belonged to two or three victims.

The Government today urged people facing heavy Christmas holiday debts to contact its advice service.

An unmanned US drone aircraft crashed today during a routine surveillance mission over a remote village in southwestern Pakistan.

Ulster will travel to Thomond Park on Friday night looking to go one better than last year when their arch rivals from Munster knocked them out of the Celtic League at the semi-final stage.

Munster coach Alan Gaffney names his side today ahead of Friday's Celtic League semi-final with Ulster at Thomond Park.

Rachel Griffiths has married her fiance artist Andrew Taylor in a candlelit ceremony in Melbourne.

NTL is being sued by its banking adviser Morgan Stanley for more than $11.4m (€10.8m) in unpaid fees, it has emerged.

Top-seed Roger Federer advanced to the second round of the Qatar Open by beating qualifier Andrei Stoliarov 6-2 6-7(4-7) 6-4.

Four matches in the top two divisions of English football have fallen victim to the weather as heavy overnight rain forced postponements all over the country.

Irish fishermen off the south-west coast are continuing blockades against foreign fishing vessels.

A six-year-old girl has died in a house fire in Co Kildare.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association has predicted that no new jobs will be created in the manufacturing sector next year.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was again missing from the Manchester United starting line-up for today’s visit of struggling Sunderland to Old Trafford.

An American man who advertised for a wife in the window of his house has found a potential candidate.

Sheffield Wednesday enjoyed the better of the first half at Millmoor but Rotherham held on to stay on level terms at the break.

There will be an inspection at Newcastle on Friday morning to determine prospects for Saturday's meeting at Gosforth Park.

Juan Veron scored an own goal in the fourth minute of the Barclaycard Premiership match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford

Second-half goals from Shefki Kuqi and Adam Proudlock gave Sheffield Wednesday a 2-0 win at Rotherham.

Race goers were treated to a thrilling finish for the first race of the New Year at Cheltenham, as 5-4 chance Joss Naylor edged out odds-on favourite Tarxien.

A train carrying about 70 people has derailed after hitting a landslide caused by heavy rain, British Transport Police say.

British murder squad detectives are searching a flat close to where dismembered body parts were discovered in London, England.

A former shoeshine boy who went on to lead Brazil's Workers Party is being sworn in as president of Latin America's largest country.

Bahrain police have arrested 41 people who went on a rampage during New Year's Eve celebrations in the capital Manama.

One of two tiny South Pacific islands cut off from the world for days by a massive cyclone has been left devastated, according to reports.

Homer Simpson is to feature in Reebok's new advertising campaign.

Everton striker Kevin Campbell has passed a late fitness test on his injured ankle and partners 17-year-old Wayne Rooney up front against Manchester City.

Sunderland leads by one goal at half-time at the Barclaycard Premiership match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Ian Harte returned to the Leeds starting line-up for the visit of Birmingham City.

Vandals set fire to at least 406 cars during New Year’s celebrations last night across France, Interior Ministry officials said today.

Leeds have taken the lead against Birmingham through Eirik Bakke.