Genetic mutations have been found in three generations of butterflies near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

THE dry weather continues and we have Ireland to ourselves.

Mazda stock dived nearly 7% today after the struggling car maker said it will raise about 163bn yen (€1.5bn) from selling new shares to invest in assembly plants and developing new vehicle technologies.

The Chieftains’Triona Marshall reveals plans for a concert to aid quake victims and also mark the band’s 50th anniversary, writes Gerry Quinn

Japanese car giant Mazda has reported a 14.4 billion yen (€133m) loss for the latest quarter and is now projecting a big annual loss instead of a profit due to the sluggish global economy and high yen.

A powerful typhoon is bearing down on Japan’s ravaged north-eastern coast today, approaching a nuclear power plant crippled in the tsunami disaster and prompting calls for the evacuation of more than a million people.

The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant began pumping highly radioactive water from the basement of one reactor's turbine building to a makeshift storage area today - a key step in stabilising the complex.

BEHIND Japan’s escalating nuclear crisis sits a scandal-ridden energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses.

Japanese nuclear experts were struggling to control three damaged reactors amid fears they could go into meltdown tonight.

The September 11 terrorist attacks, cloning and the Iraq war top a list of online news searches in the last 15 years, a new study shows.

Film veteran Richard Attenborough remains in a stable condition after spending Christmas in hospital, where he is being treated after a fall.

A GRIM warning awaits relatives who travel to Thailand in search of loved ones caught up in last week’s tsunami disaster.

British pop star James Blunt is officially dating Czech model Petra Nemcova.

Thousands of exhausted and grieving survivors dug through their crumpled homes today searching for clothes, food and valuables after a powerful earthquake hit central Indonesia, killing more than 3,700.

LEGISLATION to allow Irish troops take part in European Union battle groups will be in place as soon as this summer, Defence Minister Willie O'Dea said yesterday.

The Government is to pay for relatives of the four Irish victims of the south-east Asia tsunami to attend a remembrance service in Thailand, it emerged today.

IN Niger most of the 11 million people live on a dollar a day. Some 40% of children are underfed, and one out of four dies before turning five.

Festival puts wind in Waterford’s sails, writes South-East Correspondent Neans McSweeney.

The Irish Red Cross has appealed for personnel with particular skills to work on reconstruction projects in countries affected by the south Asian tsunami.

A powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake hammered Indonesia’s west coast, collapsing homes and burying sleeping residents inside and sparking panic across Indian Ocean countries still traumatised by the tsunami disaster three months ago. Death toll estimates varied widely, from about 200 to 10 times that number.

Wales legend Ian Rush has claimed Robbie Savage should have made himself available to play for his country in an emergency.

Clive Woodward today announced his northern hemisphere squad for the Tsunami rugby aid match against the southern hemisphere at Twickenham on March 5.

The four-month-old boy who was swept from his mother’s arms by the December 26 tsunami and later nicknamed “Baby 81” was handed to his parents in a courtroom reunion today after an agonising custody battle of nearly eight weeks.

Following the overwhelming response from the Irish people to the Asia tsunami, Irish-based organisations say they are losing out because the public is giving all its spare cash to victims of the catastrophe.

A Sri Lankan has been accused of trying to sell his grandchildren after their home was destroyed and their mother killed in last month’s tsunami, police said today.

Manic Street Preachers, Badly Drawn Boy, Snow Patrol and Embrace have joined the line-up for the forthcoming Live Aid-style extravaganza in Britain, which aims to raise millions for the Asia tsunami victims.

Police paid tribute today to an officer who helped save hundreds of people on his remote island in India during the tsunami disaster, then was swept away while trying to help one last person, an old woman who asked him to retrieve her handbag.

GAA CHIEFS scored an own goal yesterday by cancelling a tsunami charity match between men and women because of insurance worries.

Fyffes today announced it is to donate €500,000 to the Tsunami Disaster appeal.

Friends and relatives desperately seeking news of loved ones after the Asian tsunami have been plagued by hoax emails saying they are dead, British police have said.