WHEN a ship is sinking, it is accepted wisdom that the women and children should go first. Ireland hit an iceberg a few years ago and, as it went down, so too did the one industry that was keeping it afloat.

The Earthquake Commission in New Zealand is seeking Irish workers to help rebuild homes and businessess in cities devastated by three earthquakes.

A powerful new 5.1-magnitude aftershock rattled terrified residents of New Zealand's earthquake-stricken city of Christchurch today, as officials doubled their estimate for repairing the damage from nearly 300 aftershocks in five days.