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.

SIX people have died in Vietnam from the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu and Cambodia said yesterday that two children living outside the capital Phnom Penh were suspected of having contracted the disease.