Five things you might have missed last week

1. Home soil

Two Irishmen have sold their first $1m shipment of "official Irish dirt" to US customers. The soil, sterilised to pass US import regulations, has been a huge hit with Irish Americans. One New York businessman recently spent $100,000 buying enough earth to be buried in.

2. Temper, temper

A Bulgarian footballer has been ordered to get married to help control his bad temper. Ivelin Popov, 19, infamous for his tantrums and womanising, has vowed to obey the club's decision: "I know I'm a bad boy and I want to meet my 20th birthday as a married man," he said.

3. Terror tours

A £5.3m tourist resort is being built in the notorious Tora Bora caves in Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden's former hideout. "We want Tora Bora to be known for tourism, not terrorism," said Gul Agha Sherzai, a governor and former warlord.

4. Say your prayers

A thief in Chile, caught stealing gas canisters from his local church, escaped imprisonment after the priest begged the judge for clemency. Claudio Araneda, 18, from Ercilla, was ordered to paint the church walls and attend Mass every day.

5. Dial nine for nirvana

Sizzling Cumberland sausages, water lapping at Lake Windermere and a reading of Wordsworth's "Daffodils" are just some of the sounds offered by the Lakes' Escape Line, a phone line set up by Cumbria Tourism to help people beat the winter blues.

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