Accordingly to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the gap between rich and poor in industrialised nations is accelerating.

Liverpool 2 Young Boys 2

Young Boys 3 Liverpool 5

Two generals in Belarus have been sacked after their country was invaded by hundreds of teddy bears.

BAYERN MUNICH clinched a controversial win over 10-man Fiorentina at the Allianz Arena last night to give them a slender advantage going into the second leg of their Champions League tie in Italy in a fortnight’s time.

Bayern Munich 2 Fiorentina 1

BAYERN MUNICH winger Arjen Robben is dreaming of a 6-0 Champions League thrashing of Fiorentina tonight — but admits the reality is more likely to be a little different.

ALEX FERGUSON will not face any disciplinary action over his remarks criticising referee Mark Clattenburg for sending off Darren Fletcher, the FA have confirmed.

Alex Ferguson has ruled out making new signings to ease his defensive injury crisis.

LIVERPOOL captain Steven Gerrard reflected on his team’s Champions League campaign and admitted it had been “not good enough” after the Reds’ involvement in the competition finished with a 2-1 home defeat to Fiorentina at Anfield last night.

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez conceded his side’s first-half performance left them with too much as his side went down in Florence last night.

Fiorentina 2 Liverpool 0

LIVERPOOL fans are familiar enough with uncertainty over club finances and their owners’ intentions to have some sympathyfor their opponents tonight.

TWO goals apiece from French starlet Karim Benzema and Fred gave Lyon a 5-3 Champions League victory against Steaua Bucharest last night as the visitors moved into second place in Group F.

REAL MADRID won their first Champions League away game for two years last night, although they had to ride their luck to do so at Zenit St Petersburg in Group H.

France and Italy walk out for their trans-Alpine clash at Zurich’s Letzigrund tonight knowing their Euro 2008 fate lies in the hands of Romania.

Jailed former newspaper tycoon Conrad Black was convicted of fraud on the flimsiest of evidence, his lawyers told an appeal court.

Fiorentina 0 Rangers 0 (after extra-time, Rangers win 4-2 on penalties)

RANGERS kept their European and quadruple dreams alive after another Ibrox shutout put them within sight of the UEFA Cup final.

Rangers 0 Fiorentina 0

France coach Raymond Domenech has named 10 players from the Barclays Premier League in his squad to face England in a friendly in Paris next week.

DAVID MOYES was left distraught as his battling Everton side exited the UEFA Cup following a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

Everton 2 Fiorentina 0 (Agg: 2-2, Fiorentina win 4-2 on penalties)

Fiorentina 2 Everton 0

Around 1,700 people have asked to be reimbursed for buying James Frey’s largely fabricated best-selling memoir, A Million Little Pieces, a lawyer said, as a New York judge approved a settlement with disgruntled readers.

France goalkeeper Sebastian Frey claims the visit of Scotland will be more difficult than their clash with world champions Italy in Milan.

The population of the United States officially hit 300 million at 7.46am EDT (12.46pm Irish Time) today, when the Census Bureau’s population clock rolled over to the big number.

Won’t you come into my parlour?” said the spider to the fly.

GIVEN the necessity of providing controversial copy to sell newspapers, your review of The Eagles’ concert in Dublin (Irish Examiner, June 12) hardly comes as a surprise.

A woman eating a salad at a Burger King restaurant in the Netherlands found a live frog in her salad, the company confirmed today.

Bruce Willis has jumped to the defence of controversial author James Frey declaring he was unfairly attacked on Oprah Winfrey's TV show last month.

Oprah Winfrey has angrily laid into an author whose drug abuse memoir she promoted, saying revelations that he had made up parts of it had embarrassed and disappointed her.

Oprah Winfrey broke her silence about Jaes Frey’s disputed memoir of addiction, A Million Little Pieces, early today, dismissing allegations of falsehoods as “much ado about nothing” and urging readers inspired by the book to “keep holding on”.

A writer whose memoir about drug abuse became a massive bestseller in the US after Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club has been accused of exaggerating his criminal record in the work.

Manchester United are poised to go shopping for a goalkeeper this summer after announcing both Roy Carroll and Ricardo will leave the club on free transfers.

The dolphins deployed by the US Navy in the Persian Gulf last year as underwater sentinels have been “valuable” in protecting coalition ships and piers against terrorist attacks.

French goalkeeper Sebastian Frey claims he is on Manchester United’s shopping list and that preliminary talks between his representative and Old Trafford officials have already taken place.

SCOTT PETERSON’S one-time mistress Amber Frey testified yesterday that her first blind date with him culminated in a hotel room tryst, revealing the first details of an affair the government says led Peterson to murder his pregnant wife.

IRELAND have been relegated to Division B of the European Junior Ladies’ and U21 Men’s Championships for 2005 and 2006 following the conclusion of their respective championships at the weekend.

Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann has vowed to bounce back from the goalkeeping error which helped to keep alive Chelsea’s hopes of prevailing in their all-English Champions League quarter-final.

The US navy has deployed highly trained dolphins in the Gulf to help protect coalition ships and piers against terrorist attacks by providing early warning of hostile swimmers.

Italian goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis has indicated he would probably jump at any offer to replace Arsenal veteran David Seaman.

The US Navy has deployed trained California sea lions to the Gulf, to act as lookouts for those who may be trying to attack a port or ship.

Manchester United 3 Parma 0