Zippy, the yellowish-brown glove puppet who was loud and sought to be the centre of attention in Rainbow, gained a cult status that went beyond the pre-school children's programme's 25-year history.

Rioting broke out across Belfast last night after hundreds of loyalists took to the streets in continuing unrest caused by the use of the Union flag.

A former adviser to Northern Ireland MP David Simpson has been arrested after a camera was found in the toilets of his constituency office, Democratic Unionist Party sources confirmed.

A one-time police agent who passed on information about the IRA has surfaced in England with claims that MI5 have left him destitute and failed to protect him against republicans.

How did an instrument of Roman torture end up becoming a club badge for pious Christians? The cross was supposed to inspire terror, and those crucified made into a public spectacle of Roman imperial power. Crucifixion sent a message: we, the Romans, are in control. Defy us and die a horrible death.

The Rev Ian Paisley remained seriously ill in hospital tonight as his family maintained a vigil at his bedside.

The Pope could visit Ireland by 2012, Martin McGuinness said today.

Pope Benedict's determination to confront Britain's "aggressive secularism" was put to an early test yesterday – but the anti-religious forces which gathered to greet him on the streets of Edinburgh were quite a jolly lot even if their message was a deadly serious one.

Shoes and eggs were pelted at Tony Blair today as he attended his first book signing in the Irish Republic.

1 The Freedom of Information Act

Tony Blair has described Gordon Brown as "maddening" and "difficult" when he was his Chancellor but has defended his decision not to sack him or try to stop him becoming Prime Minister.