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Clockwise, from top left, Duncan Neil, Neil Davis, Sean McEvoy and James Strong.

The Ulster Titans, Northern Ireland’s first gay friendly rugby team

On a waste ground off the Ormeau Road in Belfast, a rugby team trains on earth ground in the biting Northern Irish winter. Every so often they have to stop their passing plays while one of them goes to the petrol station to buy more diesel for the generator powering the halogen lights.
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BT Woman of the Year in the Voluntary Sector was Kathleen Murphy, Centre Manager, Newry and Mourne Carers with sponsor Neil Holland, Sales and Marketing Manager, firmus energy.

Annual search for BT Woman of the year

Do you know a carer worthy of winning a Belfast Telegraph Woman of the Year award?
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Northern Ireland’s Frank Carson and Jimmy Cricket are keeping the fans laughing

An almost balmy night at the height of the summer season at Blackpool's Opera House and an excited sell-out crowd is standing to attention to the patriotic strains of God Save the Queen. Families with children, pensioners and people in wheelchairs are clutching their bulldog-emblazoned programmes and waving Union flags in happy anticipation of the evening's entertainment.
Comment: 1

Can today's women really have it all?

As more of us admit we're happier at home than in the workplace, is the myth of 'supermum' over?
Comment: 1

Special report: What it's like when your husband is a paedophile

This Sunday the BBC screens a major new drama about the families of men caught sharing images of child sex abuse. Here, researcher Clare Dwyer Hogg meets three wives whose real experiences informed the show — and hears how one knock on the door changed their lives forever.
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How to look well, feel well and live well

Getting to grips with a change in lifesyle may not be as difficult as you think. Don't worry, help is at hand...
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Ulster witch spellbound in Armagh

If you thought witches, spells and covens belonged in fairy tales then think again, as practising witch Sarah Cavanagh (56), from Co Armagh, tells Stephanie Bell
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Fiat 500 Abarth

There's something hugely appealing about the unexpectedly fast, small car. It's the combination of cute looks and the promise of major amusement from cheeky, giant-killing performance.
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Mums tips for coping with first day at school

Nerves, tears and tantrums — and that’s just the mums. Kerry McKittrick asks some of our best-known mothers how they cope with that heart-wrenching first day at school
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The priest-filled world of TV?s Father Ted is a thing of the past.

So, just why is there a shortage of priests here?

With precious few candidates for the priesthood and rapidly emptying pews, the Catholic Church is being forced to accept radical change.
Comments: 2

Ulster schoolgirl heading off on Arctic expedition

A Banbridge teenager is packing up her woollies as she prepares to embark on an epic expedition to the Arctic to witness climate change at first hand.
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Motoring

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Citroën C5 Tourer 2.0 HDi

Road test: It's a flat ride when the bumps are smoothed out

The Citroën C5 Tourer took me serenely across Europe. But the drive was so stress-free it made me nostalgic for a car with a few rough edges

Food & Drink

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Cupcake wars: Celebrity favourite Sprinkles launch legal battles against rivals

They are America's biggest food craze since gourmet coffee. Now frosted cupcakes have cemented their standing as a staple of the national diet – by tapping into the business community's insatiable appetite for legal disputes.

House & Home

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This spiral cellar offers perfect storage for your favourite vintage..

Perfect storage solutions

Clutter in your home not only looks bad, it can also costs you money, writes Gabrielle Fagan

Fashion & Beauty

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Madonna is a master of reinvention.

Make-up artist reveals how to get Madonna’s latest look

Brilliant Belfast make-up artist Paddy McGurgan has made up some of the world’s most famous faces. He shares top tips on how to look like a star

Travel

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Dome cathedral of riga, latvia.

48 Hours in: Riga, Latvia

Late summer is a lovely time to discover Latvia's capital, with space to appreciate the impressive architecture, as well as the city's cosmopolitan atmosphere. By Neil Taylor

Books

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Barack Obama: The words of a dream

Barack Obama, writer and orator, has deep roots in a tradition of eloquence that dates back to the age of slavery. As he prepares to accept the Democratic nomination in Denver next week, Candace Allen traces his literary heritage of memoir and testimony.

Health

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Former Miss UK Lucy Evangelista (22) is a bit of a sleepyhead and loves nothing more than staying in bed until lunch time.

Me & my health: Lucy Evangelista

Former Miss UK Lucy Evangelista (22) is a bit of a sleepyhead and loves nothing more than staying in bed until lunch time. She got engaged to boyfriend Matt in June and they live in east Belfast

Day In a Page

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World in Pictures: September 2008

  • An anti-government supporter reacts to a speech by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej at Government House Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. In a live radio speech Samak vowed not to resign and to stay on to protect democracy.
  • People wade through flooded streets after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. Three storms have killed at least 126 people in Haiti in less than three weeks.
  • Parents of newly arrived freshmen students sleep in a gym at the Central China Normal University in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Wednesday Sept. 3, 2008. The university opened its gym overnight to allow parents of freshmen students to accompany their children on their first day of school.

Stunning images from around the world

Heading Out In Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Nightlife in Pictures

In Pictures: Flooding Northern Ireland

  • A car abandoned on the Westlink Road is seen at the junction with the M1 Motorway in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Severe flooding swept across Northern Ireland Saturday after torrential rain.
  • This bike fan was unconcerned about the bad weather which led to the Ulster Grand Prix being cancelled
  • A bridge is swept away as the River Straid burst its banks at Nursery Road in Ballymena on Saturday afternoon

Wet and wild photographs from around Ulster

Most popular

Family Notices

Olympics closing ceremony

  • A general view showing the Olympic flame during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China.
  • A general view showing the Olympic flame during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China
  • Performers are seen during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China

Spectacular show closes 2008 Games

Beach boy Bush at the Olympics

  • U.S. President George Bush watches a practice as U.S player Kerri Walsh warms up at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
  • U.S. President George Bush watches as U.S. team of Misty May Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh warm up at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
  • President Bush gestures toward the back of Misty May Treanor as he visits the practice of the U.S. beach volleyball team the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. At right is Treanor's teammate Kerri Walsh.

US President finds time for some volleyball fun

Entertainment

War in the Caucasus

  • Russian armored vehicles enter a tunnel, moving toward the border with Russia's North Ossetia, 70 km (43 miles) north of Tskhinvali, the Georgian breakaway province of South Ossetia's capital, on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Russia pulled the bulk of its troops and tanks from Georgia on Friday after a brief but intense war but built up its forces in and around two separatist regions and left other positions deeper in the former Soviet republic.
  • Smoke rises from a fire in the Georgian village of Kekhvi, some 15 km (9 miles) north of Tskhinvali, in Georgia's breakway province of South Ossetia on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. Many ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and Georgia have been looted and burned down after Russian troops entered Georgia.
  • Fire fighters extinguish a fire on a train carrying oil products after it hit a mine about 10 km (6 miles) east of Georgia's strategic central city of Gori on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the blast hit near the end of the train and one third of its 30 tanker cars were on fire.

A conflict in pictures

Columnist Comments

david_healy

• David Healy: World Cup qualifying - here we go again

Ever since we lost to Spain and failed to qualify for Euro 2008, I’ve been waiting for the World Cup qualifiers to start.

robert_fisk

• Robert Fisk: It's never good to swap people for bodies

Al-Jazeera – much praised by the now-dying US administration until it started reporting the truth about the American occupation of Iraq (at which point, you may recall, George Bush wanted to bomb it) – is back in hot water. And not, I fear, without reason.

adrian_logan

• Adrian Logan: There’s no place like Tyrone for believing

The dream final is on. After yesterday’s thrilling All-Ireland semi-final, it’s Tyrone against Kerry in Croke Park in three weeks time.

laurence_white

• Laurence White: If you’ve finished posturing, can we get on with politics, please?

Maybe DUP leader Peter Robinson is starting to warm to Sinn Fein after all. In a statement in the wake of the Independent Monitoring Commission report which said that the IRA is now a spent force incapable, even if it wanted, of starting up a terrorist campaign again, Mr Robinson made it clear he is not entirely convinced that the Provos Army Council is totally redundant.

frances_burscough

• Frances Burscough: Why I won’t miss smarmy Laurence off my TV screen

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, the dandy decorator from Dulwich with big hair and an even bigger head, must be one of the most annoying ‘personalities’ on TV, don’t you think?

lindy_mcdowell

• Lindy McDowell: Why Gordon should put a cork in it

Not since the days of Oliver Cromwell have we had a dourer bunch at the helm of the ship of state. Not since the days of Nostradamus have we had to listen to more dire predictions. Gordon Brown’s government has become the political equivalent of a hen house that’s just got a whiff of a prowling fox.

pol_o_muiri

• Pól Ó Muirí: Going back to school teaches us all patience

In January people join gyms; in September they enrol in night classes. Yes, it is that time of year when you decide to challenge the brain and go to that evening class. The impetus varies.

ed_curran

• Ed Curran: Why is it always raining in Northern Ireland newsrooms?

Well, that was the summer that was. Or should I say: wasn't! I missed the worst of August thankfully through being on holiday in eat-your-heart-out, sun-kissed France, followed by the Olympics in Beijing.

billy_simpson

• Billy Simpson: Every swan has to sing sometime

A recent trip to the breathtaking North Antrim coast reminded our writer of growing up in the ‘best location in the world’

cooper_brown

• Victoria Brown: My husband has been kidnapped and sent to prison in Mexico

Recent readers of my husband Cooper's column will undoubtedly know that he was having some problems with the immigration authorities here in the United Kingdom.

Loadzajobs

Northern Ireland Troubles

In Pictures: The Northern Ireland Troubles

A Conflict in Pictures

Miss Universe

  • Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza is crowned Miss Universe 2008 on stage during the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
  • Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza one of the top 15 semi finalists performs on stage during the final of the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
  • Miss Vietnam Lam Thuy Nguyen one of the top 15 semi finalists performs on stage during the final of the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Nha Trang, Vietnam