A scientist is seeking pounds 30,000 compensation from Boots for a fresh expedition to the Arctic after alleging the store lost his roll of 36 photographs from a previous trip.

Sixth-formers have created a Web site to follow the footsteps of a polar expedition. By Dorothy Walker

THE North Pole is melting, top British and US scientists have discovered. They predict that the year-round polar ice cap will disappear entirely in the next century, due to global warming.

Thousands of amateur astronomers are preparing their binoculars to watch what could be the brightest comet so far this century. Comet Hyukatake, discovered in January by a Japanese amateur, will be at its brightest by the end of this week, when it should be visible all night as a large, fuzzy patch a little smaller than the Moon.

Christmas in America by Penne L. Restad Oxford, pounds 17.99; From Santa Claus to `Away in the Manger', many of our best loved Christmas traditions are American imports, according to a new cultural history. By Christina Hardyment

Santa Tom is stumped. In more than 20 years of "ho-ho-hoing", he's had to deflect a range of tricky questions, from the feeding habits of reindeer, to the practical difficulties of squeezing down chimneys. He's studied for his Master of Santa Claus degree; gone on to train Father Christmases from all over the world, and now he's leading the School for Santas one-day course.

This week in Fairbanks, Alaska, just 180 miles south of the Arctic Circle, they're coping with less than three hours of daylight and temperatures of -35F. Still, things aren't too bad in the run-up to Christmas - Santa lives down the road

Piper Alpha claim

Greg Wood on an initiative to enlight students on the ways of the Turf

The nearest human habitation to the North Pole, the Svalbard islands have belonged to Norway since 1925. Other countries, though, have exploited the mineral reserves here: the Russians, in particular, have mined coal in the islands since 1932. But with the end of the Cold War, both the Norwegian and Russian mining communities are having to face up to the prospect of life without state subsidies. The Norwegians are now marketing Svalbard as a holiday and conference centre.

Rock star appears in Birmingham beneath Mothership-lookalike. Boy, can she summon up hi-tech heaven

From Mr David Wallace

SCOTLAND'S Sam Torrance and Gordon Brand Jnr both shot 54 to share the lead in the first round of the weather-affected Chemapol Czech Open at Marienbad yesterday.

(First Edition)