So, Ireland save the best until last.

On the evidence of what we saw on Friday night in Zenica - when the fog wasn’t making it impossible to see anything at all - Ireland now have a big chance of qualifying for next year’s European Championship finals by beating Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Aviva Stadium tonight.

Irish absentees in defence, midfield and up front tip the balance the way of the Bosnians in Zenica tonight, particularly when you factor in Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic, two players better than anyone in our team, writes Liam Brady

Martin O’Neill is hoping to get by Bosnia and Herzegovina with a little help from his friends – in particular Wales manager Chris Coleman.

The first obstacle facing Ireland in Bosnia-Herzegovina next month will be the Zenica’s intimate Bilino Polje Stadium itself, its capacity of 12,000 meaning that the official allocation of tickets for the Green Army could be as low as 600.

Martin O’Neill says he is “delighted” that Ireland will have home advantage in the second leg of their Euros play-off against Bosnia-Herzegvina next month, but stresses his team will have to perform well away from home in the first leg if they are to hope to progress to the finals in France next year.

Are the people fleeing crisis migrants, refugees or asylum seekers? And how will Ireland accommodate any new arrivals? Caroline O’Doherty answers the question you may be asking about the refugee crisis.

The Pope has urged Bosnia’s Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholics to put the “barbarity” of war behind them and work together for a peaceful future as he made a one-day visit to Sarajevo.

Alen Muhic, who was conceived when his mother was raped by a soldier in wartime, says he would not have had the courage to search for his parents were it not for the film cameras that followed him.

Argentina 2 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1

WE have all seen the vicious clashes between some of the Ukrainian people and their former president.

Christy Fagan scored an extra-time winner as St. Patrick’s Athletic beat Široki Brijeg 2-1 to delight Richmond Park last night and advance, on a 3-2 aggregate, to a lucrative Europa League third round meeting with Bungeliga giants Hannover 96.

Liam Buckley is as wary of the hot, humid conditions expected in Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight as he is of the threat of a veteran Brazilian, among technically adept domestic and Croatian players, within the Siroki Brijeg team as he completes his preparations for St Patrick’s Athletic’s task ahead at the Pecara Stadium.

Giovanni Trapattoni has warned key men Shay Given and John O’Shea they will have to prove their fitness ahead of Euro 2012.

Shane Long ensured Ireland will head off to the Euro 2012 championships on the back of a win with the only goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina in today's friendly at the Aviva Stadium.

The big freeze continued to overwhelm parts of eastern Europe today as record snowfall and harsh temperatures brought entire regions to a standstill.

FAI chief executive John Delaney has said he is “hopeful” additional tickets for the European Championship finals will become available for Irish supporters.

IN his final words before emergency heart surgery, Richard Holbrooke, the influential US diplomat who died on Monday following complications, urged an end to America’s nine-year old Afghanistan conflict.

Bosnians were heading to the polls today for a general election likely to further entrench the country’s ethnic divisions, threatening closer ties to the West and possible EU entry.

Tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims prayed for the dead in Srebrenica today, the 14th anniversary of Europe’s worst massacre since the Second World War, and buried hundreds of victims recently recovered from mass graves.

EXUBERANT scenes in Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo greeted the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, but elsewhere in Bosnia the reaction was one of disbelief.

THE popularity of the United Nations mission running Kosovo has fallen to its lowest level in two years, a UN development agency poll showed yesterday, as Kosovo nears a decision on the province’s future that could see it become independent.

Serbia hailed its acquittal before the World Court on genocide charges filed by Bosnia, saying it would help regional reconciliation.

A United Nations agency said today it has organised a lottery offering the possibility of prizes like DVD players or refrigerators when illegal weapons left over from the Bosnian war are handed in to authorities.

EU defence ministers today gathered in Finland to consider winding down the international peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and eventually replacing it with a mostly civilian operation in the Balkan nation.

Ethnic Albanian and Serbian officials today discussed how to protect the rights of Kosovo’s minorities, putting the issue on the agenda for the first time during their UN-brokered talks on the province’s future status.

Hearts skipper Steven Pressley is looking forward to taking on one of Europe’s top teams in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League after the Gorgie side grabbed a commanding 3-0 first-leg victory in the second qualifier against Siroki Brijeg at Murrayfield.

The EU will consider reducing its peacekeeping force in Bosnia by almost two-thirds if elections scheduled for later this year show the country is on the path to stability, Austria’s defence minister said today.

Saddam Hussein may already have been convicted in the court of international public opinion for crimes against the Iraqi people, but more will be needed to get a guilty verdict from an Iraqi court – and DNA evidence may be the key.

BOSNIAN Serb police yesterday arrested their first war crimes suspects since the war in Bosnia ended nine years ago, capturing eight men - including two wanted for genocide.

GERMANY began the new era under Jurgen Klinsmann when they beat Austria 3-1 in Vienna last night.

FOR centuries, Mostar’s stone bridge was an icon of ethnic diversity. Then, when shelling destroyed it in 1993, the ancient span came to symbolize the senseless brutality of Bosnia’s war.

THE Macedonian football association have been fined €15,890 by UEFA following the racist chanting which marred the Euro 2004 qualifier against England.

Pope John Paul II reached out to the embittered people of Bosnia-Herzegovina today, asking God’s forgiveness for “so much suffering and bloodshed” inflicted by Roman Catholics and others.

Ireland will support Bosnia’s efforts to join the European Union when it takes over the presidency of the EU next year, Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen said today.

FORMER Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic, who expressed remorse for the horrors committed against non-Serbs during the Bosnian war, was sentenced yesterday to 11 years in prison.

Biljana Plavsic, the former Bosnian Serb leader who expressed remorse for the horrors committed against non-Serbs during the Bosnian war, was today jailed for 11 years by the UN war crimes court.

Newcastle United marched back into the Champions League as Kieron Dyer tore brave Zeljeznicar to shreds.

Zeljeznicar 0, Newcastle 1 By Damian Spellman,

Zeljeznicar 0, Newcastle 1ENGLAND midfielder Kieron Dyer fired Newcastle to within touching distance of the Champions League with a superbly taken goal in Sarajevo.

Police are investigating an email claiming admission for a grenade attack on an Austrian nightclub which wounded 27 teenagers.

Four people have been killed after a double-decker bus crashed into a metal roof at a passport checkpoint in Denmark.