Ryanair is to use its next big Boeing order to compete with the likes of Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways on routes from Ireland and Britain to the Gulf States and northern Africa.

For only a second occasion this season Rory McIlroy confessed he could feel proud at the sight of his face appearing on advertising billboards and banners promoting this week’s Australian Open.

Arsene Wenger has spoken about the pressure he feels he is under to bring success back to Arsenal.

The United Nations is pulling staff out of Syria because of deteriorating security conditions as fighting between rebels and government forces raged near the capital Damascus.

Tourism Ireland has said 2013 looks like it will be a good year for attracting tourists to Ireland from new and emerging markets.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has vowed he will not be swayed by “extreme opinions” on the terraces from Gunners fans.

An unfulfilled salesman walks into a bar… Sheryl Garratt meets John Bishop, the man who changed his life with comedy

Portrush will live up to its famous road sign in four weeks’ time when it becomes the “Major Golf Capital of the World” for the first Ulster staging of the Irish Open for 59 years.

The mothballing of under-performing hotels has to be a last resort and instead efforts should be focused on increasing the numbers of tourists into Ireland.

EMIRATES Airlines has entered the Irish market promising to be a major employer and boost to the local tourism industry in the coming years.

A total of 25 new jobs are on the way to Dublin with the opening of an Emirates Airlines office.

GRAEME MCDOWELL’S quest to end the season as the European Tour’s number one didn’t start too well when he andfellow Ulster golfer Rory McIlroy were left stranded at Dubai Airport early yesterday morning.

The British government's emergency committee COBRA is to meet this morning to discuss security after suspicious packages were found at East Midlands airport and on a plane in Dubai.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama declared yesterday that authorities had uncovered a “credible terrorist threat” against the United States following the overseas discovery of US-bound packages containing explosives aboard cargo jets. Obama said both had been addressed to Jewish organisations in the Chicago area.

US President Barack Obama declared tonight that authorities had uncovered a “credible terrorist threat” following the discovery of US-bound packages containing explosives aboard cargo jets.

Two US military fighter jets are escorting a commercial airliner from the Canadian border to New York City, officials said.

Ronaldinho’s agent is confident the AC Milan playmaker with sign a three-year extension at the San Siro, thanks to help from the club’s new sponsors.

RORY McILROY heads into this week’s defence of his Omega Dubai Desert Classic title by signing the biggest single deal of his short professional career.

NOT even Pádraig Harrington, widely regarded along with Vijay Singh as the hardest worker in the game, has been able to get in some practice since the cold spell kicked in just before Christmas.

The grim task of identifying victims of the Air France plane crash will begin today.

TWO Brazilian helicopters took off from the islands of Fernando de Noronha to pick up 16 bodies of Air France crash victims, as airline chiefs at a conference insisted the Airbus A330 was one of the safest planes in the world to fly.

Airline bosses today dismissed safety fears regarding the Airbus A330, saying they were confident despite last week’s Air France jet crash.

An airline has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 (€6,800) in compensation to an passenger who lost his job after the firm changed his flight without informing him.

AER Lingus shares jumped 7% yesterday after its chief executive Dermot Mannion resigned and Ryanair called for the airline to appoint union chief David Begg as chief executive.

A FORMER Ryanair pilot has claimed he was forced by the airline to choose between paying €15,000 himself to retrain on new aircraft or waive his right to bring grievance procedures against the airline.

A FORMER Ryanair pilot claims he was repeatedly passed over for promotion because he was among a group of pilots who had taken an industrial relations claim against the airline before the courts.

Naming rights for the new Lansdowne Road Stadium could earn the IRFU and FAI around €75m over 15 years, it emerged today.

Liverpool are ripe to be the Premiership’s next major buyout target, according to a financial analyst.

Richard Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic today launched a three-year plan to attract more business passengers.

BABY POWER was to the fore last night as the country’s newest set of quads made their first public appearance.

The Government has been urged to stop its bickering and in-fighting over Aer Lingus and take time-out to allow its new CEO time to formulate plans to revive the national carrier.

AER Lingus has found a new chief executive, nearly three months after the departure of Willie Walsh.

AER LINGUS needs up €1.5 billion if it is to expand its long-haul services, the airline’s chairman said yesterday.

ARSENE WENGER confirmed last night he is "days away" from signing a new contract that will ensure he remains Arsenal manager for at least two years after the club moves to its new Emirates Stadium.

On the day Arsenal secured a spectacular £100m (€144m) sponsorship with Chelsea’s current backers Emirates Airlines, manager Arsene Wenger revealed he expects to announce an extension of his own contract with the Gunners “within days”.

Arsenal’s new home at Ashburton Grove will be known as the Emirates Stadium for the next 15 years after they agreed a £100m (€145m) deal with Emirates Airlines.

Arsenal are expected to announce a deal with current Chelsea shirt sponsor Emirates Airlines later today for naming rights to their new stadium at Ashburton Grove.

CHELSEA set their sights on a global marketing strategy yesterday as they started the search for a new multi-million pound shirt sponsorship deal.

IESTYN HARRIS has been added to the list of injury doubts for Wales’s final RBS 6 Nations Championship clash against Italy at The Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Steve Hansen’s preparations for his last match as Wales coach have been disrupted by injury concerns.

THE Paris Air Show, the world’s premiere aviation showcase, opened to the public, flying buffs and professionals yesterday in the grip of the worst crisis in aviation history.

Airbus has started production of its 555-seat superjumbo airliner that is scheduled to enter service in 2006 as the world’s largest passenger jet.