Posting a letter will soon set you back a little more than before.

The price of a standard 55 cent stamp is to rise by as much as 5 cent, although An Post had requested a 10 cent hike from the communications regulator.

ComReg is prepared to sanction a rise of between 3 and 5 cent, which is expected to come into effect in the next few months.

It seems there hasn't been much reason to pop open the champagne in Europe this year.

Sales of the sparkling stuff were down 5% across the EU in 2012 compared to the previous year.

But export sales were up 3%, buoyed by the United States and Japan, where the the drink is enjoying a surge in popularity.

South Korea has recovered what it believes to be debris from the engine of the long-range rocket launched by North Korea this month.

A government spokesperson said navy ships had retrieved six chunks of debris from the rocket that was launched to international condemnation on December 12.

North Korea said the launch was a purely scientific mission aimed at placing a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite in space.