Researchers at the University of Limerick have joined in an EU effort to fight the scourge of back trouble for workers whose routine involves constant lifting.

Monty Python star John Cleese today revealed that he regarded having a species of lemur named after him as a greater honour than a British knighthood or a peerage.

Catholics’ thoughts turned to who might replace their beloved pope as the cardinals, silenced by an unprecedented pledge to not reveal their thinking, prepared to meet again today to plan next week’s conclave to select a new leader to replace John Paul II.

SWITZERLAND’S glaciers are melting faster than previously thought, losing almost a fifth of their total area between 1985 and 2000, experts said yesterday.