Skipper Robbie Keane was missing as the Republic of Ireland attempted to upset the odds by denying Germany World Cup qualification in Cologne.

Germany 3 Austria 0

Ireland’s Group C rivals Germany eased past lowly Kazakhstan 3-0 last night without deploying any strikers for the first time in a competitive match under coach Joachim Loew as they stayed top of the group.

Ireland U16 2 Estonia U16 0

A dozen US Secret Service agents sent to Colombia to provide security for President Barack Obama at an international summit have been relieved of duty over alleged misconduct.

Dublin-headquartered Covidien Plc is to buy Oridion Systems Ltd, an Israeli maker of devices for patient breathing safety, for $346m (€260m).

Today is ‘Blue Monday’, the most depressing 24 hours in the year, and so it’s ideal for contemplating happiness, says Sharon Ní Chonchúir

JONNY EVANS has apologised to Stuart Holden for the challenge which will rule the Bolton midfielder out for up to six months, emphasising it was not deliberate.

BOAT skippers and operators of recreational craft were reminded of the importance of taking due regard of weather and sea conditions after a Marine Casualty Investigation Report showed how a man died off a west Cork Island after a minor boating trip went wrong.

Russia 0 Germany 1

Germany 1 England 2

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' is to be re-made, more than 30 years after the original version, which became one of the most popular musical movies of all time.

Luca Toni’s last-minute header gave Bayern Munich a dramatic away-goals victory over brave 10-man Getafe in their UEFA Cup quarter-final second-leg encounter.

Slash has denied rumours of a Guns 'N Roses reunion.

Socialite Paris Hilton has slammed reports she was smoking marijuana at a Hollywood nightclub with her close pal Kimberly Stewart's ex-fiance Cisco Adler on Wednesday morning.

Leeds want to buy back Elland Road stadium and their Thorp Arch training complex with the help of a loan from Leeds City Council.

Mischa Barton has ended her relationship with musician Cisco Adler after nude photos of him appeared on the Internet.

The Islamic militia that has seized control of Somalia’s capital said today the killing of a Swedish journalist was planned by a foreign enemy that wants to shatter weeks of relative peace in the Horn of Africa nation.

AN unidentified gunman shot and killed a Swedish cameraman during a demonstration in the Somali capital Mogadishu yesterday, a restive city recently captured by an Islamic group after months of fighting.

The OC star Mischa Barton knows exactly why she and boyfriend Cisco Adler are the perfect match - because they're both "boring dorks".

GERMANY U-21 goalkeeper Rene Adler has signed a new contract with Bayer Leverkusen.

Whitney Houston and her husband Bobby Brown are making headlines again, after they were named the Tackiest Couple of 2005.

A former director of HIH insurance was sentenced today to four-and-a-half years in prison for his role in Australia’s largest-ever corporate collapse.

DR MICHAEL SACHS is everything a high-powered New York plastic surgeon is supposed to be: rich, opinionated and a master of self-publicity, with lots of friends in high places.

AS courtroom dramas go this one has enough dramatis personae to ensure plenty of entertainment.

MARLON BRANDO, the reclusive Oscar-winning actor who was one of the most influential stage and screen performers of his generation, has died aged 80, associates said yesterday.

NASA scientists were today trying to coax their ailing rover Spirit back to health while its twin prepared to reach out to the Martian soil with its robotic arm for the first time.

Reader’s Digest is dropping its infamous prize draw mailshots for American subscribers after 41 years of giving away millions in cash awards.

Swisscom AG chairman Jens Adler said his company has no interest in acquiring MobilCom AG because the German's company's debts are too high and because he is unconvinced by its business model.

The Archdiocese of Miami secretly paid several men to settle sexual abuse allegations against a Roman Catholic priest, church officials have acknowledged.

Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid is to marry his fiancee Carine Adler in the ‘‘not-too-distant future’’, it was announced today.

The Northern Ireland Secretary plans to marry a Brazilian film-maker he met following the death of his first wife.