An application for re-possession, to remove the businesswoman Jackie Lavin from a luxury Italianate mansion, formerly owned by her partner Bill Cullen, in the heart of the Killarney National Park has been adjourned — for the fifth time.

Prosecutors sought to dismiss the criminal charges in a sexual-assault case against former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, saying persistent lying by the hotel maid who accused him of trying to rape her in his suite made it impossible for them to determine what really happened.

A Portuguese judge today banned further sales or publications of a former policeman’s book which claimed Madeleine McCann is dead, a spokesman for the missing girl’s parents said.

LAWYERS for a company headed by Dublin businessman Paschal Taggart will appear before a French court this week to challenge claims for €21 million in damages.