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.

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.

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.

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.

Aer Lingus dispute could be resolved within days

Cabin crew’s trade union and airline management agree to Labour Relations Commission intervention in the ongoing dispute.

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.

Seanad votes for Finance Bill

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.

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.

Dublin businesses strike bargain to get 20 per cent off insurance premiums

Umbrella group for city centre traders does deal to cut cost of insurance for its 2,500 members after slow shopping year.

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.

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.

Tourism chiefs unveil 20,000-job revival plan

The ‘Tourism Opportunity’ confederation launches a report promising jobs if we change how we market Ireland.

Kindle ebook sales now higher than paperbacks on Amazon

Website sells 115 Kindle ebooks for every 100 paperbacks.

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?

Micheal Martin: Five-way debates can be "empty shouting matches"...

…But he agrees to participate in five-leader debate on Sky news.

Egypt plugs out the internet as protests move to Yemen

As Yemen becomes the next Arab nation to see protests on the streets, Egypt stops demonstrators from organising online.

Cowen confirms Dáil dissolution request for Tuesday

As the Finance Bill is sent to the Seanad, Brian Cowen confirms he’ll wait until Tuesday before going to the Park.

Dublin man shot five times but survives

Bodybuilder manages to walk to ambulance after what is being described as an assassination attempt.

Hitler's bodyguard: I'm too old to answer fan mail

Rochus Misch, 93, says he’s now simply too old to answer all the requests for autographs he gets from around the world.

ECB official rejects bailout rate cut as FG heads to meet Barroso

Opposition party meeting with European Commission president tomorrow night in Brussels, but ECB official says rate change not possible.