A condemned murderer took nearly two hours to die and gasped for about 90 minutes during an execution in Arizona that quickly rekindled the national debate on capital punishment in the US.

Warren Gatland knows there will be tougher days than the one his British & Irish Lions faced in Western Australia yesterday, starting this Saturday in Brisbane, yet you could not blame the head coach for feeling a little pleased with the ruthless way his team dispatched their opponents.

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The Western Force may have other priorities but that will not concern the British & Irish Lions one bit as they begin the Australian leg of their tour at Patersons Stadium in Perth this morning (11am Irish time).

Graham Rowntree has underlined the British and Irish Lions’ ambition to raise the performance bar in their clash against Western Force tomorrow.

The fight for fuel in the US after Superstorm Sandy is starting to get nasty.

AUSTRALIA’S comprehensive defeat by England at Twickenham on Saturday has added spice to tomorrow night’s clash of the Wallabies and Munster at Thomond Park.

The US airline steward who became world-famous after quitting his job then sliding down the emergency chute of a packed jet and running off escaped jail for his actions today.

Australia selectors have named 12 uncapped players in an extended 40-man training squad ahead of the upcoming spring tour of Hong Kong and Europe.

Lachie Turner has been named in the Australia XV for Saturday’s clash with New Zealand in Sydney.

Robbie Deans has made three changes to Australia’s squad for their Tri Nations clash with South Africa on Sunday.

Australia have made three changes to their team to take on South Africa in the Tri Nations at Bloemfontein on Saturday with Stephen Moore, Mark Chisholm and Ben McCalman drafted in.

Centre Jaque Fourie has urged South Africa to stick together as a team against Australia if they are to end the recent slump that has taken in four consecutive losses.

Australia 28 New Zealand 49

The Australian Rugby Union will appeal a two-week suspension handed down to fly-half Quade Cooper for a dangerous tackle in the Wallabies’ 30-13 win over South Africa at the weekend.

Australia coach Robbie Deans welcomes back three of his big guns for Saturday night’s Tri Nations encounter with South Africa in Brisbane.

Winger Drew Mitchell is the most notable omission from Australia's squad for the forthcoming Tri-Nations series.

Robbie Deans has made two injury-enforced changes to his Australia side ahead of Saturday's one-off Test against Ireland in Brisbane.

Australia 49 Fiji 3

Australia coach Robbie Deans has handed debuts to three players for the Test against Fiji on Saturday and the contentious number 10 jersey has gone to Quade Cooper.

Eurostar services thrown into chaos by snow will not return to normal until “after Christmas”, the company’s chief executive conceded tonight.

The UK's Christmas travel nightmare was grinding on today with more snow and ice causing havoc on the roads and further disruption for rail and air services.

EUROSTAR train services to and from France were suspended for a second day because of freezing weather yesterday, throwing the Christmas holiday plans of tens of thousands of people into chaos.

Eurostar announced tonight it was cancelling all its services for tomorrow as the company strived to avoid a repeat of the chaos that saw thousands of passengers trapped in the Channel Tunnel for hours.

AUSTRALIA have made just one change to their starting XV for Saturday’s autumn international against Scotland.

Australia today made just one change to their starting XV for Saturday’s autumn international against Scotland.

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NEW Australia number eight Richard Brown insists the coaching staff have hammered home the message that another ill-disciplined Tri-Nations display against New Zealand on Saturday night will not be tolerated.

SCHALK BURGER has been recalled to the South Africa squad for the next stage of their Tri-Nations campaign, following the eight-week ban he picked up during the British and Irish Lions tour of the country.

Peter de Villiers has hailed South Africa’s “brilliant” form after their third consecutive home victory in the Tri-Nations yesterday.

South Africa 29 Australia 17

Australia have made a fiery return to training following Saturday’s painful 22-16 loss to New Zealand in Auckland, with front-rowers Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander involved in a scuffle.

Two men posed as police officers to rob a family of its presents on Christmas Eve.

New Zealand 19 Australia 14

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand yesterday squabbled over their line-ups for this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup match with the All Blacks claiming star player Dan Carter was being deliberately targeted.

Teenager James O’Connor is set to become the second-youngest player ever to pull on an Australia jersey after being named in the squad to tour Europe later this year.

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A GLOBE-TROTTING marathon man will this week attempt a new world record, running the length of Ireland in under five days.

ROBBIE DEANS has named seven uncapped players in his first Australia squad for the Test against Ireland on June 14.

Robbie Deans has named seven uncapped players in his first Australia squad for the Test against Ireland on June 14.

A photographer found guilty of assaulting Heather Mills as he tried to take her picture today had his conviction quashed after a court heard she was too stressed to attend his appeal hearing.

Prosecutors in England today dropped the case against a former stablehand and nanny to glamour model Jordan who was accused of falsely claiming benefits for nearly two years.

The introduction of faster London-Paris and London-Brussels journey times helped Channel Tunnel train company Eurostar to a record year in 2007, it was announced today.