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Yearly Archives: 2016

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Officials in Paris are investigating a possible terrorist incident in the city this afternoon, after shooting down a knife-wielding man who attempted to enter a police station.

One year to the day after 17 people were killed in the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the individual – believed to have been wearing a fake suicide vest – made an apparent attack on the station at Barbes in northern Paris.

Interior ministry in the French capital say the man was shouting "Allahu Akbar" and was waving a knife, in the attempt of creating "the impression of an attack."

According to one eyewitness speaking to French officials, the man was shot three times by a policeman armed with a revolver.

At first, bomb squad officers used a robot to inspect the man's dead body, to avoid casualties from possible explosive devices.

Just moments before the incident, French president Francois Hollande gave a speech in honour of the one-year Charlie Hebdo anniversary, praising the three policemen killed in ast January's attacks for their "sacrifice" in keeping people safe.

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While Nicky Byrne has admitted that he was making a return to the music industry this year on his 2FM radio show, we certainly didn't expect him to be taking things international. 

And by international we mean representing Ireland in the perhaps the most entertaining and ridiculous music compeition to ever be produced.

Yes, reports have circulated today that Nicky is in talks to fly the Irish flag at Eurovision in Stockholm this May. 

"Most people will be shocked as he was never the strongest singer in the band but he’s a great performer, he has good stage presence and he’s very likeable so who knows?" a source has told the Irish Mirror. 

“It’s just crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s at this stage but Nicky looks set to following in Jedward’s footsteps and singing at the Eurovision."

“Shane and Mark have their record deals and their albums so maybe the Eurovision could relaunch Nicky’s pop career.”

Married to Bertie Ahern's daughter, Georgina, the 37-year-old father of three has become a popular figure in Irish media. 

Following the split of Westlife after 14 years in the business, the former popstar found continued success with his RTE radio show, co-hosted by Jenny Greene, reeling in an average 163,000 listeners. 

We are not sure if this means that there will be no televised selection process on the Late Late Show this year, but if we can have Nicky with a decent song to represent us, we don't really mind! 

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When staff at Tropical Popical nail salon in Dublin received a call from The Ellen Show earlier this week, they started crossing their manicured fingers in hope.

Saoirse Ronan, a loyal customer, had just pre-recorded her interview with Ellen DeGeneres. Could this mean a plug on one of the world's biggest chat shows was on the way?

"I was out of the office, but the girls texted me saying they'd just had a call from LA asking for permission to use some pictures from our Instagram," salon co-owner Andrea Horan told SHEmazing! today.

"All we were thinking was, 'Imagine if they actually mentioned us by name?'"

In the end, of course, Saoirse gave the Tropical Popical ladies more than a passing mention. She couldn't stop raving about the place, in fact:

Speaking about the salon – where she was having a treatment when she heard about her Golden Globe nomination – Saoirse said, "There are palm trees everywhere and flamingos, you feel like you're in Ibiza and you're just getting your nails done in Dublin." 

So have Andrea and her crew recovered from the shock yet?

"It feels like it's fake," she admitted. "The fact that she [Saoirse] was actually describing the salon was just amazing. It's gone mental since then, we've had people calling from all over."

Something tells us that Saoirse's next gold mani-pedi will be on the house.

Watch the full interview, as shown on The Ellen Show yesterday, below:

 

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There was definitely one very confused home owner standing at their door after this.

At 82, this Irish granny is still getting a total kick out of playing tricks on her neighbours, as revealed by this hilarious YouTube video uploaded by her son.

She might look like butter wouldn't melt, but it seems she definitely has a mischievous streak:

"What, are ya doing a knick-knack?" her son is heard to say as he spots his mum standing at a neighbour's door.

Too cute. Watch the full video here, as shared on JOE.ie today:

 

Well done all round.

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Like all of us, Adele is feeling the guilt after some extreme over-indulgence at Christmas. And rather than post a serene and smug #cleaneats #blessed gym selfie, the singer told it exactly like it is. 

The gym is hard work, people. Like, sweating and grunting and red in the face hard work. Especially if you have a trainer dictating your every move like Adele no doubt does.

That's why we're loving this snap of the Hello hitmaker feeling the burn with those godawful resistance bands as she prepped for her upcoming tour.

"Getting ready…" Adele captioned the brilliant black-and-white snap.

Given that the star's previous tweet, posted on December 21, mentioned that she was " in a dressing gown eating a Chinese watching Eastenders," we're guessing the first week back at the gym was fairly tough.

It's no doubt been all go for the mum of one since she confirmed back in November that she would be doing a European and US tour, starting with two gigs in Belfast at the end of February, before moving to Dublin and beyond.

We can't wait!

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It's been an extremely difficult few weeks for reality star Kristin Cavallari, but there have still been some moments of lightness.

The mum-of-three took to Instagram yesterday to share a first proper snap of her new daughter Saylor with fans, a little over a month after her brother's tragic death.

"Here is my angel Saylor. I couldn’t have asked for a better baby," she told fans via her app.

"We’re very lucky to have such a sweet, easy girl, especially since she’s the third one!"

Kristen and her husband Jay Cutler already have two sons together, three-year-old Camden and 19-month-old Jaxon.

Last week Kristen admitted it had been a difficult road learning to cope with the loss of her older brother Michael. The 30-year-old's body was found in a mountainous area close to where his abandoned car was located in Grand County, Utah.

It's believed that prolonged exposure to the elements lead to his death.

Taking to Instagram on Jan 2, Kristen said she was taking small steps to get back to normality.

"Last night was the second time I've put makeup on in over 5 weeks and left the house (besides the grocery store and taking Cam to school)," she wrote alongside a snap of herself and her husband enjoying a glass of wine.

"Even though I shed a few tears, it was a really nice night and felt good to be out."

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Zayn Malik has paid tribute to his grandmother who sadly passed away in the last week, and has thanked his fans for their support. 

Taking to Twitter, the former One Direction singer simply said: "Thank you for your support and love .. My grandma was a beautiful person and will be missed dearly x"

News spread of the loss when Zayn's younger sister, Waliyha, shared a touching picture of her Grandmother on her Instagram account. 

The picture features their Grandmother standing happily alongside their Mother, Trisha. Also present in he photo is an older man assumed to be Zayn's grandfather. 

"R.I.P to my grandma I love you more than anything in the world my angel," read Waliyha's caption. 

"It was so hard to see you struggle the way you have been but I know your in a better place now with my granddad he'll be so happy to see you after so many years."

The news will come as a blow to the popstar who has always mentioned in interviews how close he is to his family. 

"I'm always on the phone to my mum, aunties and sisters. I have a big phone bill cos I'm silly when it comes to my mobile," Zayn told Top of the Pops! back when he was a member of 1D. 

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The Rose of Tralee may be a festival steeped in longstanding tradition, but it seems the iconic Irish pageant is receiving a bit of a facelift this year. 

Dedicated viewers will be pleased the hear that the traditionally five day festival has been expanded into a seven day festival. 

Therefore, there will be three televised nights instead of two.

Hurrah! 

Traditionally, the selection process to whittle down potential Roses from the 68 selection centres to the final 32 took place in Portlaoise in May. 

However, in this new extended format, RTÉ will broadcast a documentary featuring all 68 selected roses and reveal who has made it to the live final on the Sunday before the usual televised shows.

This means that all 68 roses will travel to Tralee in August and the documentary will chart their journey to the festival. 

Speaking on the Nicky Byrne Show today, Dáithí Ó Sé commented on the popularity of the festival despite always getting slagged off. 

"People have been knocking it for a long time but now everybody’s watching it."

"The social media part of it is unbelievable, we had two people in charge of social media last year for the first time ever,” he explained."

“They had Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, the whole thing and it was absolutely unbelievable.

Meanwhile reigning rose, Elysha Brennan has been doing her duty travelling the length and breadth of the country encouraging women to take part. 

"It is a testament to how big and successful the festival is that RTÉ is putting on an extra night,” said the winning Meath Rose. 

"What other show in Ireland gets three nights on RTÉ?"

The first televised night of the festival is due to air on Sunday 21 August. 

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It may be one of the biggest hits of the nineties as well as possibly the greatest debuts of all time, but did we ever pause to wonder what the phrase "Hit me baby, one more time" actually meant? 

Because, well, it is a weird sentence.

Some speculated if it was a reference perhaps to a kinky sexual fantasy or whether poor Brit was suffering from domestic abuse. 

Well, we need not speculate anymore as the songwriters have finally revealed exactly the thought process behind this now infamous lyric – and it's totally innocent.

According to new book The Song Machine by John Seabrook, the writers of the tune were in fact Swedish and they thought that the word "hit" was actually slang for "call". 

So in fact, Britney simply wanted her boy crush to phone her up sometime. 

Yep, according to the book, songwriters Max Martin and Yami Racoub came up with the phrase simply out of a language barrier. Perhaps the writers were referring to the phrase "hit me up", which unfortunately does not make much sense if you take out the "up". 

Apparently, as the Independent reports, the song was originally intended for girl group TLC who turned it down over it those questionable lyrics.

"I was like, I like the song, but do I think it’s a hit? Was I going to say ‘Hit me baby, one more time’? Hell no!" said former TLC member, T-Boz in 2013. 

It seems that this wasn't an issue for Brit who was just dying to make her stamp on the music world. However, record label bosses did change the title to simply …Baby One More Time to avoid any controversy. 

Well, we are glad that the song turned out as it did because "Call me baby, one more time" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. 

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Madonna is reportedly very worried about her son Rocco missing school as the teen has yet to return to the States after taking a trip to visit his father, Guy Ritchie, in London in December. 

According to inside sources, Rocco had become frustrated with his home life and left the US during his mother's Rebel Heart tour just before the Christmas holidays. 

Since then, the former couple has engaged in a bitter custody battle over the 15-year-old. 

An attorney for Guy Ritchie released a statement claiming that: "[Rocco] has expressed very clearly that he does not want to return to New York."

However, a Supreme Court Judge in New York ruled earlier this week that Rocco is to return to the city to be with his Mother. 

And according to People magazine, Madonna is now extremely worried as her son has not returned to attend school. 

"He should have been home already," a source close to the family revealed.

'"Madonna is a devoted mother, and a big priority is her children's education."

Guy has reportedly hired lawyers as he prepares to battle the iconic popstar for Rocco's custody, revealing that he believes that the teenager would have a healthier lifestyle in London with him, his wife and three children. 

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The humble Irish fry is making headlines today with the news that black pudding is set to become one of 2016's biggest superfoods.

Yup, it joins the ranks of quinoa, kale, chia and goji berries as one of those on-trend, super-healthy foods that nutritionists rave about.

Of course, for us Irish, black pudding is hardly 'on-trend' – we've been serving it up next to fried eggs and rashers for years. But if the breakfast favourite can get the unlikely honour of being named a 'superfood,' surely some of our other oh-so Irish guilty pleasures are next on the list?

While you whip up your first black pudding, blueberry and quinoa sandwich of the year, take a look at our predictions for the next big superfood…

1. A Waterford blaa
Like all good superfoods, a blaa has that air of mystery about it. Why are they unique to Waterford? Why are they called blaas? Is the hard or soft version better? So many questions.

 

2. Tayto crisps
Take a potato, slice it, fry it in sunflower oil, add a few drops of magical morning dew from an Irish forest, and you get… Tayto. Or something like that.

 

3. Guinness
Well, according to the old ads, Guinness is good for you. But is it SUPER for you? That remains to be seen.

 

4. A Butler's Hot Chocolate
Pure decadence. If hot chocolate melted into milk isn't downright super we don't know what is.

 

5. White pudding
How come black pudding gets all the attention, eh?

 

6. Barry's Tea
We challenge ANYONE to say they don't feel at one with the world after a good cup of Barry's.

 

7. Homemade scones
With butter. Or jam. #blessed #cleaneats 

 

8. Madeira cake
Dessert? Ha. This stuff is so good it could be a meal all by itself.

 

9. The long-lost jelly star from Afternoon Tea biscuits
A good superfood should be obscure and hard to track down. Enter the urban legend that is the jelly star.

 

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He can't stay at home playing with Charlotte forever, y'know. 

Two-year-old Prince George of Cambridge entered the big bad world of education today, heading to Norfolk for his first day at nursery school.

True to form, the blond tot looked downright adorable for his big day, donning a navy quilted jacket with a tartan hood which will no doubt sell out in five seconds flat.

The pictures, taken at Westacre Montessori School Nursery this morning, were released via Kensington Palace's Twitter just now.

To celebrate his first outing as a big boy, George also got his very own schoolbag – cool or what?

Just before Christmas, the Royal Family shared their first family snap since Princess Charlotte's Christening back in May – and it's clear to see the two little kids are growing up to be a pair of total cuties.

Just look at them:

Anyone else's ovaries going into overdrive? No, just us then.

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