Mary Robinson has championed women's rights

England have

Voters in the Republic of Ireland have chosen their first female president.

Unofficial returns suggest that Mary Robinson, who is standing as an independent, took nearly 40% of the vote in the first round.

Ireland's system of proportional representation means the result will not be confirmed until tomorrow.

But Mrs Robinson's performance in the first round means it is now impossible for anybody else to win.

Senior sources in the camp of her main opponent, former deputy prime minister, Brian Lenihan, have already conceded victory to Mrs Robinson.

It is the first time in 70 years that a presidential candidate put up by Mr Lenihan's party, Fianna Fail, has been defeated.

Mrs Robinson, a Dublin barrister, is considered radical by Irish terms.

A civil and human rights lawyer, she has campaigned for the liberalisation of laws prohibiting divorce and abortion for more than 20 years.

However, she not only won the support of women countrywide but also polled well in traditionally conservative rural areas.

The mother-of-three has been a member of the Irish Senate for more than 20 years.

She twice ran unsuccessfully for parliament as a Labour candidate.

But five years ago she resigned from the Irish Labour party over the Anglo-Irish agreement because she felt unionists in Northern Ireland had not been consulted.  

Edward and Sophie were expecting their baby in a month's time

The baby weighs just 4lbs 9oz (2 kg) and was delivered by emergency Caesarian section at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey at 2332 GMT.

She was born without her father present: Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, was on an official visit to Mauritius. He is flying home to be with his wife and daughter.

The countess, 38, called an ambulance after being taken ill with cramps at her home in Bagshot Park.

Both mother and baby are said to be stable, but a Frimley hospital spokesman said the baby had been transferred to a neo-natal unit at St George's Hospital in Tooting, London, "as a precaution".

Sophie would remain in hospital "for the foreseeable future", he said.

The pregnancy had been progressing well and royal gynaecologist Marcus Setchell had expected to deliver the child early in December.

Mr Setchell was present at Frimley Park hospital for the emergency operation.

The baby is the first grandchild of the Queen to be born in an NHS hospital.

The child is the first for the Queen's youngest son and his wife, and is the Queen's seventh grandchild. She will be eighth in line to the throne.

When Edward and Sophie married in 1999, it was decided that any children they had would not be called His or Her Royal Highness, in an attempt to shield them from media attention.

The baby is likely to take the title of Lady, followed by a given name to be decided, and then Windsor or possibly Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Queen is being kept informed of events, and Buckingham Palace have said she is pleased to hear that they are doing well.

The birth follows a traumatic failed pregnancy in December 2001, when Sophie was airlifted to hospital after suffering an ectopic pregnancy.

The couple have faced controversy and media criticism as they struggled to combine high-profile jobs in television and public relations with royal duties since they married in 1999.

In March last year the couple announced they would leave their separate companies to devote themselves exclusively to royal duties.

barrister: a British lawyer who speaks in the higher courts of law（宵禁令；打晚钟时间）

gynaecologist: a specialist in gynecology（妇科学家）