Paul Robinson’s recent world best time of 4:17.9 for a mile run in sub-zero Antarctica recalled memories of a previous era when Ireland’s leading milers competed at elite level and helped to rewrite the record books.

Sweden’s Tomas Lindahl, American Paul Modrich and US-Turkish scientist Aziz Sancar have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for “mechanistic studies of DNA repair”.

Police and the FBI are trying to determine whether the killing of three Muslims during a neighbourhood parking and noise dispute was a hate crime.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of the United States today shaking much of Washington and sending people spilling into the streets near the White House.

Chinese President Hu Jintao wrapped up a four-day US tour today with a visit to Yale University, where he sought to quell fears about the international effects of his country’s booming economy and pledged continued cooperation with the United States.