Rangers have appointed former Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith as their new director of football.

IRELAND is making progress in overcoming the worst economic crisis in recent history and is on track to achieve the targets set out for this year, according to the latest report from the IMF as it agreed to release the next tranche of money.

The International Monetary Fund has approved $16.4bn (€12.7bn) in emergency funding for Ukraine to stabilise the nation’s economy, which is being pummelled by falling export values, rising inflation and the effects of the global financial meltdown.

PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa, a trenchant critic of Robert Mugabe who won praise for his handling of Zambia’s inflation-prone economy, died yesterday in hospital in France aged 59.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged wealthy nations to take bold action this year to liberalise global trade and help developing countries escape poverty, calling the lack of progress “perilous”.

The International Monetary Fund today approved a new £391m (€571.4) loan for Iraq, giving the country a critical endorsement of its economic performance.

AN investment bank has agreed a six-figure settlement with a former employee who said she was forced to quit her job after she was bullied and sexually harassed.

Fulham have announced that as many as 15 members and season ticket holders face being banned from Loftus Road because of ticket irregularities.

An immigrant Egyptian man opened fire yesterday at the ticket counter of Israeli airline El Al in Los Angeles International Airport, killing two people before being shot dead by a security guard.

Europeans and others who oppose US plans to reform the World Bank's aid program for the world's poorest countries are ignorant of basic finance principles, said US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.

The value of the Argentine peso fell by more than 39% in its first day as a free-floating currency.

Luis Boa Morte will not face a suspension following his dismissal during Fulham's clash with Everton.