A pair of Irish teen country and western sensations are to travel to the US in February to appear on a top chat show there.

Schalke have confirmed Jefferson Farfan has signed a contract extension until 2016, ending months of speculation about the Peruvian’s future.

Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger did not deliberately pick up a yellow card in last night’s 2-0 Champions League win over Marseille, according to Bayern’s chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Cologne forward Lukas Podolski says he has not yet agreed a move to Arsenal despite reports suggesting a deal has been done.

Bayer Leverkusen director of sport Rudi Voller has condemned the behaviour of Michal Kadlec and Manuel Friedrich following the pair’s over-exuberant efforts to swap shirts with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in their Champions League encounter on Tuesday.

MOTHER-OF-FOUR Glynis Curtis has had her annual benefits cut by almost the Taoiseach’s weekly wage.

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has set his sights on a second major scalp at the Emirates on Wednesday after seeing his side beat Bayern Munich in their own back yard yesterday.

Sky Television's control over broadcasting rights for sports games has been thrown into doubt after the European Court of Justice ruled that the sale of sporting rights on a country-by-country basis is in breach of EU law.

RUPERT MURDOCH owns one of the most powerful media empires in the world, but the growing phone-hacking and corruption scandal has threatened to bring it to its knees.

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has announced that an agreement has been reached for the signing of Manuel Neuer from Schalke, but says official confirmation will come when Schalke are ready.

The last moments of a terminally ill man who travelled to an assisted suicide clinic to end his life will be shown in a documentary presented by best-selling author Terry Pratchett.

MORE than 1,800 cyclists including sports stars and celebrities took part in Ireland’s first closed-road mass participation cycle event yesterday in Co Clare.

THE COUNTRY’s first foray into live 3D sport was well-received by the regulars at Fagan’s pub in Dublin.

The German Football Association has called for a “thorough” investigation into the latest betting scandal to hit the nation.

RYDER CUP skipper Colin Montgomerie has buried the hatchet with Sandy Lyle after the “cheat” slur that sparked a wealth of controversy at last month’s Open.

BRITISH prime minister Gordon Brown said yesterday he was personally opposed to assisted suicide, ahead of the broadcast of a programme in which a terminally ill man is seen ending his life.

SATELLITE broadcaster Sky television has launched an investigation after personal details including bank account numbers of 33 people from several areas of Wexford became available online.

President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party is demanding a recount of votes and a further delay to the announcement of presidential election results, the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper reported.

SKY Television, and not the ERC or Munster, will decide the kick-off times for the Heineken Cup matches at Thomond Park next November, December and January.

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said that he has "no difficulty providing or explaining details" about his personal finances.

HEADY days for Irish rugby. Two teams in the weekend’s Heineken Cup quarter-finals, the World Cup can’t come soon enough, and Dublin’s Aoife McCarthy has given IRFU chiefs another reason to smile.

Two people were killed and about 60 others injured today when two underground trains collided during morning rush hour in a central Rome station.

Ron Atkinson is to continue his return to football at Peterborough after ending his alliance with Swindon.

JOHN MAGNIER and JP McManus have not been offered a price for their stake in Manchester United by US businessmen seeking control of the club.

LIBYA has agreed to allow snap UN nuclear arms inspections, just a day after declaring it was giving up plans to build an atomic bomb.

Communications Minister Dermot Ahern has said that the Government has no plans to compensate the Football Association of Ireland following Sky Television's decision to pull out of a lucrative contract with the association.

SKY TELEVISION executives are likely to claw back money from the FAI under the terms of a revised deal to screen Republic of Ireland internationals.

A Marines task force headed north from Baghdad today, seeking to destroy any Iraqi forces remaining on the route to Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.

Several people were believed to be dead after a commuter train derailed south of Sydney, Australia, ambulance workers said last night.

The European Union has paved the way for certain sports events to be seen again on free-to-air television in this country.

THE European Commission is today expected to officially approve the free screening of major Irish sports events on television.

WAYNE MCCULLOUGH says he would relish the opportunity to bring a quick end to the reign of newly-crowned WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison.

David Beckham is unlikely to face Football Association punishment for appearing to elbow Lee Bowyer during Manchester United’s defeat at Leeds yesterday.

Sky Television has confirmed that it is to broadcast Ireland’s first home European Championship qualifier game against Switzerland on October 16 on Sky One.

FOLLOWING the furore over the FAI's controversial sale to Sky Television of the rights to broadcast the Republic of Ireland's soccer matches, there appears to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is to tell the FAI today that soccer fans must be allowed see home international games without subscription charges.

THE Government will next week map out its plans to ensure sports fans will not face a repeat of the controversial FAI deal with Sky Television.

RTÉ and BBC have joined forces against Sky Television for the rights to televise the Republic of Ireland's away internationals.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday condemned FAI's decision to sell sole broadcast rights for home soccer internationals to Sky Television.

The FAI is being criticised for giving the rights to Sky television to cover Irish international football matches.

The Government has admitted that it is at least partly to blame for the failure of Irish television stations to secure rights to broadcast this weekend’s rugby match between Ireland and England.

Former British and Commonwealth heavyweight boxing champion Julius Francis today accepted ‘‘substantial’’ undisclosed libel damages.

Jubilant Wycombe manager Lawrie Sanchez insisted his heroes deserved their victory after the dramatic 8-7 penalty shoot-out win over Wimbledon.