The surviving part of the collapsed Woolworths empire may be placed in administration by the end of the week in a move that could hit the chain’s pension fund, it was reported today.

The group set to buy health and beauty giant Alliance Boots is understood to be at loggerheads with the firm’s pension trustees after offering far less than the £400m (€587m) demanded upfront, according to a newspaper report today.

CO-OPERATION and communication. That’s the consensus view among a number of county board chairmen who were canvassed for their views on the club/county divide highlighted over the past week in Laois.

Limerick GAA chiefs have denied that the county's executive committee is at loggerheads over the appointment of a new hurling manager, with Dave Keane's future hanging in the balance.