Relics of an ascendancy which once humoured and bestowed comfort to the Earls of Dunraven over several centuries are destined for new homes after a marathon two-day auction in the Adare Manor hotel.

The formal search for a crewman who apparently fell off of an American research ship into water between Chile and the Antarctic has been suspended.

A small plane took off from a British Antarctic base tonight to rescue a sick American doctor at the South Pole.