THE launch of the Cork branch of the Ireland Poland Business Association takes place in Jurys Hotel Western Road tomorrow.

A leading Polish newspaper has carried a report which linked the country's falling crime figures with the fact that troublemakers are leaving to work abroad.

CRIME rates in Poland are dropping as its criminals are emigrating to countries such as Ireland, according to one of its chief public prosecutors.

A TOTAL of 315 people were arrested for drink-driving offences over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, according to figures from An Garda Síochána.

Pilgrims began arriving in Rome today to mark the first anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death, praying by his tomb and preparing for an evening vigil tomorrow night in St Peter’s Square to commemorate the exact time of his passing.

Police swiftly ended an unprecedented protest in Belarus on today, arresting hundreds of demonstrators in a pre-dawn raid.

SOME of Ireland’s roads could soon feature signs in Polish and other languages in a bid to reduce road deaths.

A cable television channel for the greater Dublin area is to broadcast the country’s first ever dedicated Polish programme, it emerged today.

As Ukraine’s political opposition savoured a court victory blocking official publication of results in a disputed presidential election, three European envoys were headed to the ex-Soviet republic today on a quest to nudge the two candidates’ camps into talks.

Insurgents stormed two police stations in Iraq’s strife-ridden city of Mosul, killing at least six Iraqi troops as attacks spread throughout Sunni Muslim areas following the US-led assault on Fallujah.