Ireland have finished in second spot in a league table of 39 nations based on the points achieved at the final Olympic qualifier for European boxers which concluded in Athens, Greece, yesterday.

SPRINTER Asafa Powell has confidently predicted he will beat his 100 metres world record and become the first person to clock under 9.70 seconds.

A speeding case against boxer Amir Khan is due back in court today.

PARAGUAYAN defender Angel Martinez is set to join Portsmouth in June, according to the president of his current team.

A Greek privacy watchdog today fined mobile-phone operator Vodafone £51m (€76.1m) over a wiretapping scandal that involved the illegal monitoring of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Craig Moore has warned his Australian team-mates they must avoid red cards in tomorrow’s historic World Cup knockout tie with Italy.

West Brom beat the January transfer window deadline with minutes to spare to sign Southampton midfielder Nigel Quashie in a £1.4m (€2m) deal.

HARRY REDKNAPP claimed deadline day’s most impressive signing by luring Argentina playmaker Andres D’Alessandro to Portsmouth.

Jo Pavey will compete in the ‘Visit Scotland’ Great Edinburgh Cross-Country event on January 14.

SHOW JUMPER Cian O’Connor has finally waived his right to appeal against the loss of his Olympic gold medal, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) confirmed last night.

Paraguayan defender Angel Martinez is set to join Barclays Premiership club Portsmouth in June, according to the president of his current team.

THE wide-eyed look of disbelief told it all: He kissed the track and danced a jig. This ­ for the fans of track and field at least ­ was the greatest moment of the 2004 Olympic Games

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has sent his best wishes to all those involved in the Irish team for the forthcoming Olympic Games in Athens.

An unnamed Irish male athlete has failed a drugs test with less than a week to go to the start of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

McDonald's Corp aims to boost its outlets from 600 to 1,000 across China, by the time the Olympic Games is staged in Beijing in summer 2008.

FIFTEEN members of the Greek extremist group November 17 were yesterday convicted on charges linked to a 30-year spree of killings including the murder of a British defence attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders in June 2000.

A group of British plane-spotters were celebrating today after a Greek court overturned their seven-month-old spying convictions.

World triple jump record holder Jonathan Edwards is having second thoughts about early retirement and may continue until the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.