Robinson and Adams impervious to allegations

Revelations offer insight into the culture of Northern Ireland, where the normal rules of politics do not seem to apply

FORECAST: from The Times weatherman

Paul Simons warns that the cold weather is due to continue for days

Highlands village almost as cold as South Pole

Village of Altnaharra in Sutherland records -22.3C (-8F) as forecasters warn that temperatures will remain well below zero

Exam chaos looms as more snow forecast

Hundreds of thousands of pupils expecting to take exams next week may be prevented by the extreme weather

Friday: latest flight and airport news

Delays and cancellations to flights continues today - here's the latest on the airlines and airports that are affected across the UK

Policeman seriously injured by Ulster car bomb

Officer was understood to have been badly hurt, although there was no immediate confirmation of his condition.

Gas rationed and grit runs low as snow stays

Snow stories, news and developments as forecasters predict more snow and thickening ice for the weekend

Special Forces ‘tried to rescue hostages'

Britain attempted the rescue of Peter Moore and four other hostages near the Iranian border in May 2007, it is claimed

Music pirate site founder 'had $300,000 in bank'

Alan Ellis denies conspiracy to defraud the music industry after running lucrative members-only music download site

Ross’s exit leaves prized BBC slots

Graham Norton has been installed as the favourite to inherit the Friday night show after he signed a new £4 million deal

ANALYSIS: snowball turns to slush

Pair had reason to believe that the missile might have become an avalanche but have learnt the folly of trusting others

Gas supply rationed as temperature drops to -21C

Demand is 28 per cent above seasonal norms and likely to increase today after the coldest night of big freeze so far

Mission impassable? Not for rescuers from sky

The RAF Sea King provides emergency services during challenging weather and is vital when the air ambulance is unable to fly

Secretive food firms risk public backlash

A Lords committee warned that companies’ secretive attitude to nanotechnology would inflame public opinion, as with GM crops

Hospital term for son who tried to kill parents

Christopher Monks persuaded a friend he met on the internet to stab his parents while they slept in return for sexual favours

Appeal against revealing cost of informants

Scotland Yard claims that the information gives criminals too much knowledge about how it works and its special tactics

No one ever told Pavarotti to lay off the pasta

Opera has gone the way of Hollywood in expecting its leading ladies to have legs as lissom as their larynges

Elderly care plan 'threatens vital services'

Social workers, meals-on-wheels and road maintenance may have to be cut to cover the cost of controversial government plans

Benefit of one-to-one tuition lasts years

Researchers at the Institute of Education analysed the impact of a programme on the children who were lowest achieving

‘What little we have will disappear’

Councils across the country are already facing tough decisions even before the arrival of the Personal Care at Home Bill