Hi °C | Lo °C Unlike Francis, the left are no saints
It was about a minute after his inauguration that 76-year- old Latin American Pope Francis was decried on Twitter for not being a campaigner for gay marriage or abortion.
How Van got head start on fame game
Pictured out shopping with wife Nicole Appleton this week, Liam Gallagher proved that, despite being in his forties now, he still possesses preternatural coolness.
I don't want to think like a man, Sheryl
It's always helpful to be reminded how weird men are.
What about the stories behind the headlines?
Last weekend, on a visit to old friends in London, I asked after a chap I didn't see much any more, but had always liked.
The grim reality is we've had enough of these TV shows
I'm all for a guilty pleasure. And although I have some sympathy for the argument that only middle class apologists feel guilty for enjoying themselves, deep down I know cultivating a fancy for Nick Knowles while watching repeats of DIY SOS and scoffing grease-dripping banana fritters from the local tax-dodging, child-enslaving chippy does not set a good example to my children.
It's all a bit hard to stomach, Gwyneth
Can it be true that Gwyneth Paltrow bans her children – ages eight and six – from eating carbs?
Some men really need to get their hatred of women off their chests
What a jolly upstanding bunch they are at Amazon.
Petulant Bieber owed fans a decent apology
Father Ted is a regular reference point for me. So many of its characters resonate strongly in modern Britain.
Why David is top of the cops
We've got used to seeing the battered, bloody cadavers of young women being cut up in the autopsy room on crime dramas, and though it rankles a tad after the 50th corpse, some shows are so compelling I must admit, I keep watching anyway.
Mo's a great runner, but an even classier man
Mo Farah has always given the impression of being one of life's nice guys.
So, what was point they were making?
I'm a huge film fan but also a big fan of sleeping, so despite my good intentions, which involved my bedside radio and a large, unwieldy pair of headphones, I nodded off before the 2am start of Oscars ceremony.
Church wouldn't be in a shambles if women had a real role to play
Fans of irony must have enjoyed the fast-tracking of Cardinal Keith O'Brien's resignation this week, following so quickly on the heels of his actually saying something ground-breakingly sensible.
How this TV series fuels every mum's fear
Call me a paranoid, masochistic, ridiculous fool clearly not up to bearing the standard requirements of motherhood if you like – it wouldn't be a normal day if someone didn't – but I started worrying about my children leaving home about five minutes after my first child was born.
Tweet trolls show little charity to Catherine
When Corrie actress Catherine Tyldesley chose to give her Family Fortunes winnings to a charity supporting the families of prisoners, it probably didn't occur to her that she was setting herself up for a social media mauling.
Violence here less important to Dave than Kate
For those of us grappling with our philosophical position on novelist Hilary Mantel's comments regarding 'plastic' Princess Kate Middleton, what a relief to have David Cameron simply declare Mantel "totally wrong".
Terence gives sandals a stamp of approval
It's not often I would recommend taking sartorial advice from a 74-year-old man in Birkenstocks, but Terence Stamp isn't the average sandalled pensioner.
Shop work's no life of Reilly
Cait Reilly, the 24-year-old geology graduate who got the Government' s hilariously titled 'Back to Work' scheme declared unlawful this week has already suffered the kind of abuse in the right-wing press that brings out the 'polo mallet' instincts in some of the wettest bleeding-heart liberals.
Why normal girls hurt when celebs are criticised Unfair
I'm not an expert in environmental or neuro science, which may come as a surprise to some readers, but I do know that in the UK, national holidays and happy festivities must be followed by periods of morale-testing depression.
Do we care enough to stop cruelty to the weak?
So this was a good week for the highlighting of institutional heartlessness wasn't it?
Super Beyonce bowls over critics
I'm guessing Beyonce was still smarting from the mauling she took for miming the national anthem during President Obama's inauguration when she got onstage at the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
Good guy Zach Galifianakis
Hangover star takes 87-year-old to premiere
Cannes femmes: Shayk and Ambrosio on red carpet
In pictures: UK Soap Awards
FHM's sexiest women - Kunis knocks Tulisa off her perch
Latest News
Cannabis plants raid - women held
Two women have been arrested as detectives seized cannabis plants with a street value of around half a million euro.
Man to face Hyde Park blast charges
A man will appear at the Old Bailey charged with the murder of four British solders in the 1982 Hyde Park IRA bomb blast.
Slain soldier 'a loving family man'
Detectives are to question two people arrested over the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, described by family and friends as a loving family man who always wanted to serve in the Army.
Latest Sport
George Best was in a different league new
George Best was the finest footballer of them all, according to England World Cup winner Ian Callaghan.
Who wins the duels across the pitch will decide final destination of pro12 crown new
They know each other inside-out as a result of having squared up so often in the past. As well as having gone head to head on such a regular basis, most of the protagonists are Irish training camp regulars. In addition, many of them have been Test match colleagues.
Tipuric ready to fight for spot new
Justin Tipuric hopes Sam Warburton's selection as British and Irish Lions captain will not harm his chances of earning a Test spot against Australia.
Latest Showbiz
Cutting It star heads for Paradise
Cutting It star Ben Daniels is joining the department store costume drama The Paradise for its new series.
Channel 4 reveal new music shows
DJ Nick Grimshaw and chart stars Rizzle Kicks have been lined up to host a pair of new music shows for Channel 4.
Flanagan fleshes out skins protest
Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan did her bit to protest against the skin trade by showing off some flesh of her own.
