City attacker captured...

I'm sure all the women of Galway city will be breathing a sigh of relief tonight now that RTE News have reported that this guy was arrested and brought in for questioning this evening shortly after 8pm.

'Binge tanning' increasing skin cancer in UK women

The number of UK women diagnosed with the most serious form of skin cancer is on the rise according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.

The numbers show that nearly 350 women were diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2005, up from 220 in 2003. And the numbers are continuing to rise each year, with nearly one woman in her 20s diagnosed with this deadly form of skin cancer each day in the UK at present.

The researcher say that the use of sunbeds all year around and "binge tanning" on holidays were to blame for the spike in young UK woman and that around 50 women under the age of 40 die from melanoma each year.

The experts also warn that rates are likely to continue to rise by the year 2024, when it is expected that it will become the fourth most common cancer in both men and women with upward of 15,500 per year.

Read the full story here.

I say bring on the bronzer and throw me my bottle tan...I'm as happy as can be with my skin, thanks very much!

Bring on the blusher — Research shows that rosy is healthy

Ladies, you will be happy to know that all that endless searching and mindless spending we go through to find the perfect blusher hasn't all been a complete waste. A new study from the University of St Andrews shows that people really do believe that healthy women should display a rosy glow on their face, and that pink cheeks increase a woman's overall level of attractiveness to both sexes.

The researchers responsible for the study confirmed that natural redness in our cheeks is reflective of a general level of fitness in women, and is associated with increased levels of oestrogen, both reasons why the tint makes us more attractive to both men and women. So the next time you've had a few too many glasses of the good stuff the night before a big date, don't forget that the most important thing you may have in your clutch is that trusty pink compact.

Click here to read the full story on BBC News.

Want to know my blusher pick for the season? Try The Body Shop's Roseflower Blush in Pink. The perfectly pale tint is great for any skin tone this spring and has just enough shimmer to prep you for that summer glow.

20,000 sign on to Live Register in March — Unemployment hits all time high

Another 20,000 Irish residents signed on to the Live Register last month, bringing the rapidly growing total to 372,800, the highest number of unemployment since records began in 1965.

The figures, released today by the Central Statistics Office, have yet to be broken down by county. The Taoiseach Brian Cowen said that a fall in the numbers across the nation is unlikely over the coming months.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Recession sees women going from jobless to topless

Click here to read the RTE article about the growing number of unemployed American women turning to the adult entertainment industry to survive during the current economic crisis. Here industry professionals give some tips on how to survive in a time when "desperate measures are becoming far more acceptable" and when successful women can still make upwards of US$100,000 per year.

The Orgasmic Birth Movement — I'm sorry, what?

Described as "a drug-free, pain-free labour that comes with multiple orgasms" (as mothers across Galway start to laugh hysterically), the orgasmic birth movement is controversially making its way into Western culture, challenging strickened taboos and mainstream medical beliefs along the way.

Intrigued yet unconvinced right? Me too. Click here to read what The Times had to say about orgasmic birthing this week. And yes, for those who need a visual (no, it isn't as bad as it sounds) there is a clip from an American documentary film on the subject available here. Seems blissful enough and all that but, having stood just footsteps outside of the labour and delivery department on a few occassions I'm still not convinced those moans and groans, (and occassional screams) can constitute sounds of pleasure and not sounds of pain. Call me a pessimist but I think I'll be waiting a few years before I put this theory to the test, thank you very much!

Gerard Barry to serve life for Manuela's murder

In a good turn of events, justice has been served in the case of 17-year-old Swiss student Manuela Riedo, who was found dead in an area of wasteland near Lough Atalia in Galway City on October 8, 2007.

Rahoon man Gerard Barry has been sentenced to life in prison for Manuela's murder following a guilty verdict delivered by the jury in his trial this morning. Barry, who had pleaded guilty to stealing the Manuela's mobile phone and digital camera, had denied that he had killed the young woman. He claimed that he had met and had sex with Manuela on the night in question but that her death had been an accident.

Read the full story here.