A SPANIARD has become the world’s oldest mother after giving birth to twin sons.

LEAVING Certificate students should be given up to 50 extra points for higher level papers when applying for college, an expert has suggested.

WANT to know where your family name came from? Look no further.

MORE than 20,000 homes were left without electricity yesterday as storms battered the country disrupting road, air and sea travel.

TWENTY-SEVEN fewer people died on Ireland’s roads this year, but road safety groups have warned that more needs to be done to further reduce the number of fatalities.

DUTCH giants Ajax’s faltering title hopes were dealt another blow on Saturday but Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven got back on track for a third successive crown with three points against ADO Den Haag.

JAMIE HEASLIP has every reason to remember his last appearance at the old Lansdowne Road.

FORMER Australian second row Justin Harrison, now with Ulster, yesterday described Lansdowne Road as part of rugby folklore.

SO, yes, we honour the players, the teams, but we must come back to this grand old stadium. She went in style, blowing up a storm of the kind that had befuddled the best kickers rugby has ever known, all down the decades.

Connacht 8 Munster 14

DECLAN KIDNEY had his reasons when he made nine changes in his side to play Connacht in Galway yesterday, but he also realised he was taking a calculated risk.

ONE-TIME Munster great Michael Bradley insisted after yesterday’s game that he never doubted that Munster, Leinster and Ulster would be Ireland’s representatives in next season’s Heineken Cup.

Neath-Swansea Ospreys 12, Newport-Gwent Dragons 6

Garryowen 18 Cork Constitution 13

THE Irish representatives had mixed fortunes at the US Junior Handball Championships which concluded in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday night.

WILLIE MULLINS and Jessica Harrington ended 2006 on a high when sharing the training honours with doubles at Punchestown yesterday.

THE mildly frustrating Justpourit can put it all together and land the Kilbride Beginners Chase at Fairyhouse this afternoon.

THE Government’s entire budget for dealing with student misbehaviour was spent on recruiting staff and establishing an administrative office, according to the Labour Party.

THE last hours of 2006 brought horror to the town of Fermoy.

WITH the thunder of cannon and the whistle of a bosun pipe, Washington has honoured former President Gerald Ford’s memory.

RESCUE boats have picked up scores of exhausted survivors from an Indonesian ferry that sank in the Java Sea, but they also recovered dozens of bodies and around 400 people remain missing.

YOUNG women who plan to drink themselves into oblivion can take advantage of the latest fashion accessory — a trendy identity tag.

THE State is facing a fresh legal battle from former public sector workers who claim they have suffered from exposure to asbestos.

EVERTON boss David Moyes watched Victor Anichebe confirm his rich potential with two goals against Newcastle on Saturday and then declared that the days when the club sold their best young players are over.

MANCHESTER United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been honoured in his home country by being awarded the Portugal Sportsperson of the Year award for 2006.

ROY KEANE is calling on Irish strike duo David Connolly and Daryl Murphy to provide the firepower for a concerted Sunderland promotion push.

DEREK RIORDAN was downbeat despite marking his full Bank of Scotland Premier League debut for Celtic with his first goal. The former Hibernian forward scored for the first time since April in an impressive first-half display against Motherwell at Fir Park.

RAFAEL BENITEZ’S already strained relationship with Sam Allardyce fractured entirely after the Liverpool manager effectively accused his Bolton Wanderers counterpart of building his success on dirty tricks.

MERRY MONK BALLINA put the finishing touches to what has been a good first half season with a 94-80 victory over troubled UCD Marian on Saturday night and this keeps them alongside HOOPS at the top of the table.

TRY SNEAKING up on a pigeon. It seems to have eyes in the back of its head. In fact, it has a visual range of 340º, leaving little or no blind spot especially when the bird is boppin’ along, head dipping and rising like one of those toy dogs in the back windows of cars.

AN INTERESTING project is underway at UCD: post-graduate student Jack Murphy is studying horses. His concern, however, is not with their health strength or breeding performance. Jack is examining the property known as “handedness” and the form it takes in horses.

IT’S a moral quandary, even a ghoulish issue, some might say. The respect that ought to be accorded skeletal human remains that turn up in long-forgotten cemeteries and, especially, in bogland excavations continues to exercise people.

I LOVE trees but I’m not sentimental about them. In fact at this time of year I enjoy cutting them down, turning them into logs and burning them.

THAT Dr Seán Barrett’s views are informed by a blinkered anti-public transport ideology is well known, but his latest diatribe masquerading as economic analysis, published by the ESRI, descends to the level of self-parody (‘Transport strategy seriously flawed’, Irish Examiner, December 21).

AT 7am two days after Christmas, my wife and I gingerly deposited a very irate son at Dublin airport for a flight to London where he works.

THE Government’s Transport 21 plan should be given credit for reversing the destruction of the railways, but you publish comments from Prof Seán Barrett’s ERSI paper unjustifiably attacking investment in rail (Irish Examiner, December 21).

NOBODY questions the need for radical reform of Ireland’s outdated coroners’ courts but Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s approach to this issue leaves much to be desired.

AS the New Year dawns, it is timely to reflect on 2006 which, by any yardstick, was an annus horribilis.

A FEW MONTHS into 2006, a client and friend was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He had never smoked. He was 46 years of age. He had four children.

HOUSEHUNTERS will have to check out two tags when searching for that dream property from today — the first is the price, the second is the house’s energy rating.

MORE than 10,000 people have applied for Government grants to make their homes greener by improving the energy efficient rating.

THE cost of a plastic bag will rise to 22 cents by the end of this month in an effort to reduce the increasing number of bags sold.

THE Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has promised to exercise more as he joins two thirds of the population in vowing to get fit in 2007.

WHAT a difference a year makes. This time 12 months ago, Bouncer was destined for the dog pound.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will today preside at a special mass in Dublin to mark the World Day of Peace.

The execution of Saddam Hussein will not make the US safer and will only increase the violence in Iraq, the Reverend Jesse Jackson said today.

A woman who broke into the home of former Beatle George Harrison has been found dead in a blood-spattered vehicle in what police believe is a murder-suicide.

The plastic bag levy is going up by six cent in an attempt to curb the increasing popularity of the bags amongst consumers.

DJ Fatboy Slim will stage a winter beach party for thousands of revellers today.

Electricity supply in the northwest is expected to be reconnected today after a night without power.

Chinese president Hu Jintao says it will be vital for his government to spread the country's growing wealth among its have-nots, in a New Year's speech that also toned down rhetoric against rival Taiwan.

Hundreds of thousands of revellers flooded New York's Times Square today to watch the famed crystal ball as it dropped to mark the New Year.

Two young people are dead following a house fire in Co Kildare today.

Irish striker Anthony Stokes admits he is unlikely to extend his successful loan spell with Falkirk.

Business leaders are hitting out at the timing of the increase in the national minimum wage.

Bulgaria and Romania are now part of the European Union, expanding its membership to 27 states.

The Irish language is an official language of the EU this morning.

The controversial new Anti-Social Behaviour Orders or ASBOs for adults will come into force today for the first time.

Rafael Benitez believes Premiership high-fliers Bolton are taking advantage of lenient English referees.

Today's racing at Tramore goes ahead after officials at the Co Waterford venue declared themselves happy with conditions.

Al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, has attacked the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinians, accusing them of betraying Islam and collaborating with the US and Israel, according to an Internet statement published in his name today.

The death toll in the New Year's Eve bombing in the Thai capital Bangkok rose to three today.

The number of American deaths in the Iraq war has reached the milestone of 3,000 as the Bush administration seeks to overhaul its strategy for an unpopular conflict that shows little sign of abating.

Arsenal's nemesis Phil Jagielka claims the "big baby" Gunners refused to shake his hand after he had kept them at bay during their shock 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United.

Tom Petty won't back down after all, denying a Rolling Stone magazine article saying he will retire.

Michael Owen is hoping to be back in action before the end of this season.

Spectators staked out front-row seats for a trip to a galaxy far, far away, as Pasadena's famous Rose Parade prepares to present an otherworldly tribute to Star Wars.

The pensioner killed after being hit by a car in Laytown, Co Meath on Saturday night has been named.

It set to be an expensive New Year for consumers as numerous new price increases are introduced.

Virgin and EasyJet are to team up with an Asian airline to create the world's first budget global network.

Exeter racecourse will stage today's fixture as planned after officials elected to cancel a planned 7.30am inspection.

A man sustained serious stab wounds during an assault at a New Year's party early today in north Belfast.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has prepared his side for another test of their resolve against Bolton after coming through a trying second half in their 1-0 win over Tottenham on Saturday.

An investigation was launched today into the death of two people in a blaze at an Irish Army camp.

Pope Benedict XVI made a New Year's Day wish today that people would work courageously for world peace, and especially for a lasting end to the Holy Land's conflict, which he said has dragged on for too long.

Pop star Beyonce Knowles recorded her hit song Irreplaceable to empower women who want to end their bad relationships.

Shaun Paul O'Hagan, 26, from Ballymena today became the first person to die on the roads in the North in 2007.

New methods for handling complaints against the health service and social service providers came into effect today.

The Scottish Football Association have confirmed that Steven Pressley is free to play for Celtic against Kilmarnock tomorrow after completing his registration this morning.

A murder hunt was launched after a man was stabbed at a New Year's Eve house party.

US aircraft bombed houses at 2am today, killing four members of a family and wounding a guard at the house of a former Shiite politician, police said.

The number of British businesses going bust jumped by nearly 11% in 2006, new figures show.

Thousands of British fans brought in the New Year with pop star Kylie Minogue as she staged her first UK show since her treatment for breast cancer.

Businesses in the North will be breaking the law from today if they refuse services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

Australia coach John Connolly has tipped Matt Giteau to be a future Wallabies captain.

Former world boxing champion 'Prince' Naseem Hamed has been stripped of his MBE, it emerged today.

Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers have entered Kismayo, the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement, residents said today.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez made four changes for the New Year's Day Premiership visit of Bolton with striker Craig Bellamy the most notable absentee.

Retiring Archbishop of Armagh and Church of Ireland Primate of All-Ireland Dr Robin Eames has been announced as the recipient of the 2006 Tipperary International Peace Award.

Leinster captain Brian O'Driscoll feels that the Magners League is now wide open following their 20-12 win over leaders Ulster at Lansdowne Road yesterday.

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a roadside bomb in northern Sri Lanka today, killing two police officers and wounding another, the military said.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today said the new year was a new beginning for the Irish language in Europe.

Martin O'Neill admits Aston Villa are beginning to crack beneath their over-reliance on youth - and he is ready to open Randy Lerner's chequebook to solve the problem.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin has praised the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) for investing almost €140m in scientific research in 2006.

X Factor winner Leona Lewis today celebrated the end of the year that saw her hit the big time with a second week at number one.

Gardaí in Tralee have named the man who died after being stabbed at a house party last night.

ISEQ-listed bookmaker Paddy Power has announced its continued sponsorship of the Irish Greyhound Derby for three more years.

Limerick City Council is planning to pedestrianise part of O'Connell Street in the heart of Limerick city centre.

Anthony Stokes has returned to Arsenal for discussions on his future after his successful spell at Falkirk.

The owners of Little Chef were today said to be in talks to sell part of the company to Israeli property group Arazim Investments.