Breaking news ... it's another black day for journalism 

The promised showdown between the UK's political leaders over creating a new Press regulator turned out to be a phoney war.

Border pays rich dividends to anti-partition republicans 

For someone who has spent most of his adult life trying to abolish it, the border has been very good to Thomas 'Slab' Murphy.

Ulster's brave fighters deserve uniform praise 

Shock and awe' is a phrase the world became familiar with 10 years ago as a US-led coalition invaded Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.

'Fat girl rodeo' is weigh too serious to be laughed at 

Fat girl rodeo' is a game which I had not heard of until recently. The 'game' is played like this: you grab a 'fat' woman in a club and hang on to her, yelling 'yee-hah' until they throw you off.

Time to start process of ending separate schools 

The most-recent Belfast Telegraph/LucidTalk opinion poll on integrated education, which re-affirmed strong majority support, has added to the need to take steps to provide what the majority in Northern Ireland really wants.

New man a sign times may just be a-changing 

Prior to his election as Pope eight years ago, Benedict XVI said that the Holy Spirit does not guarantee the election of a good Pope, instead he guarantees that a bad Pope will not destroy the Church.

The courts deal with paedophiles not a stiff upper lip 

Cover-up, not points swap, put Huhne on road to ruin 

The cover-up, they say, is always more devastating to a political career than the original crime. When the cover-up involves a crime, a mistress and a vengeful ex-wife, then you are definitely on to a loser.

Good news ... but don't cheer too loudly, Alasdair 

Increasingly, by-elections are becoming the political equivalent of the internet phenomenon the Harlem Shake. Prior to election day, the parties dance and joust, while the general public pays little attention.

Scourge of division can be ended by a renewed effort 

The current situation in the Stormont Executive and on our streets will require a major policy response by the Labour Party when, hopefully, it returns to power in two years' time.

Research holds the key to tackling prostate cancer 

Nearly 40,000 men per year are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK and approximately 250,000 are currently living with the condition.

Sinn Fein MPs sitting pretty despite refusal to take seats 

New MPs go through an odd little ceremony when they take their seat in the Commons.

Action demand on puppy farms 

Channel 4's Dispatches programme recently reported a dramatic increase in the number of dogs being brought into the country illegally from mainland Europe.

Why our parties are strangling the integrated system 

Since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in April 1998, the number of pupils availing of integrated education has increased from 11,382 to 21,031, according to the latest school census figures. The number of integrated schools has also climbed, from 40 in 1998 to 62 in 2013.

Cosmetics industry must come clean on animal testing 

Have you ever gotten shampoo in your eyes? Stings, doesn't it? Or applied perfume to broken skin? Or even accidentally breathed in hairspray? Your skin hurts, your throat burns.

Ashdown's man of few words 

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown was on fine form at his party's spring conference in Brighton at the weekend.

Men in uniform don't take direction from men in suits 

When Sean Hughes appeared at the High Court earlier this month, charged with, among other things, IRA membership, he had a former minister Conor Murphy in the public gallery for moral support.

Breaking Tea Party clout vital for Republican future 

After Barack Obama trounced Mitt Romney, with major Latino voter support, in November, it seemed that Republicans had no option but to back efforts to create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America.

Young can't tear down walls society continues to build 

It's very hard to argue with the recent Belfast Telegraph/LucidTalk poll, which suggested that 79% of respondents would support a request for their child's school to become integrated; and that 69% of them agreed that an integrated school was the best setting to prepare children to live and work in an increasingly diverse society.

New revolutionary needed for Church to move forward 

John Charles McQuaid, the deeply conservative Archbishop of Dublin, returned from Rome in 1965, declaring that the Second Vatican Council would have no impact on his flock. "No change will worry the tranquillity of your Christian lives,'' he told them.