Russia's 'chessboard killer' has appealed his life sentence, saying he thinks spending the rest of his life in jail is too strong a punishment for murdering 48 people, his lawyer said on Friday.

Alexander Pichushkin, who showed no remorse during his trial, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison last month.

But his lawyer said the serial killer thinks the punishment does not fit the crime and should be cut to 25 years.

"Pichushkin thinks the sentence is too harsh," said his lawyer Alexander Karyagin, adding that an appeal had been lodged with Moscow city court.

"When I met with my client, I explained to him that the appeal would probably be refused, but he insisted that it should be filed."

"It's my job," Karyagin told Reuters by telephone on Friday.

Pichushkin, who claimed during his trial to have killed 63 people, goaded detectives for taking years to track him down.

He was given his nickname by Russian media because he told detectives that he had hoped to fill a 64-square chessboard with markers for each of his victims.

Driving bans over altar wine

Celebrating more than one Mass a day may push Roman Catholic priests over the alcohol limit if tougher drink driving rules come into effect in Ireland, a leading clergyman said on Friday.

Altar wine is an essential part of the Eucharist, the ritual in which Catholics believe the priest turns bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. A priest drinks a small amount of the wine during the Mass.

Under proposed Irish legislation, the limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood is expected to be tightened but no new level has yet been specified.

Because the ranks of the Catholic clergy are thinning out, priests - especially in rural areas - often drive to several churches on Sunday to say Mass for congregations who have no resident clergy.

"You could be over the limit trying to travel between maybe two or three churches on a Sunday morning and coming back again," Father Brian D'Arcy told Reuters.

D'Arcy is a broadcaster and rector of the Passionist Monastery in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, where similar changes have also been proposed.

He said wine prepared for use in services had to be consumed and throwing it away was blasphemous.

Irish media quoted another priest from western Ireland as saying he often took three services in a day.

Breeding 'Olympic pigs' untrue

Organisers for next year's Beijing Olympic Games have denied that special pigs are being raised in secluded farms and given extra pampering, adding there was no need for these steps, as food safety was not a worry.

In a statement posted on the 2008 Games official Website (www.beijing2008.cn), the organisers said an unnamed company had promoted its pigs as being bred only for the Olympics to try and boost its image and sales.

"It is very wrong if they tried to say these things were done for the Olympics. They are manipulating people's feelings about the Games to improve their brand image," the statement said.

State media identified the company as Qianxihe Food Group.

Sparks fly over donkey meat advert

A mangy donkey tied to a post all day in a Beijing street wearing an advertisement for a donkey meat shop run by his owner has sparked debate in the Chinese capital, a local newspaper said yesterday.

The donkey is periodically moved around wearing its green and white coat advertising the store, but left on its own, given a few cobs of corn to eat, and surrounded by its own manure, the Beijing News said.

"It has caused controversy," the newspaper added. "Some people think that using the donkey is very interesting. Yet others worry it's not hygienic, and may affect the city's image."

The owner doesn't seem to care for all the fuss, the report said. "The aim is to attract customers. The effect has been great," it quoted the man, whose surname was given as Zhao, as saying. Animal rights are still a strange concept to many Chinese, who enthusiastically consume donkey, horse, dog and even cat and think little of keeping those meant for the pot in terrible conditions.

Fiat chief unhurt after crash

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne escaped unhurt after crashing his Ferrari on a motorway in Switzerland, the company said yesterday.

Police had declined to give the identity of the two drivers when describing the accident on the A1 motorway near the town of Olten on Friday.

A Ferrari crashed into the back of a Renault whose 76-year-old French driver had suddenly braked, police said.

The shock had caused the Ferrari's airbags to blow up, blocking the driver's sight. The driver then lost control of his car and rammed it into the crash barriers.

Nobody was hurt in the accident.

Swiss newspapers yesterday said Marchionne had been the Ferrari's driver, which Fiat later confirmed.