New Zealand-born screenwriter Andrew Niccol has consistently conjured dark clouds with his dystopian visions of life in the 21st century and beyond.

AN Irish investment firm is seeking the return of €31.6 million given to a company which was to be passed on for investment with international securities fraudster Bernard Madoff, the Commercial Court heard yesterday.

A British High Court judge today rejected a claim that a motorway design defect was partly to blame for the Selby rail crash.