Everton 3 Chelsea 1: Jose Mourinho watched Chelsea fall 11 points behind early Premier League leaders Manchester City and then admitted that he’s not sure his side are still in the title race.

West Brom 3 Chelsea 0: This was an extraordinary evening at The Hawthorns in every sense.

Public libraries in the UK are facing an “absolute disaster” and should try to emulate coffee shops, the author of an independent report into the service has said.

Premier League

Martin O’Neill accepts the Irish squad which flew into New York last night is a depleted one and, should any more players fall victim to injury or illness, he is prepared to call up reinforcements.

Taking its title from a hand in poker that is vastly improved by other cards on the table, ‘Runner Runner’ is a slick yet soulless thriller set in the high-stakes world of online gambling.

The founder of an online currency transfer business was indicted in the United States along with six other people in a $6bn (€4.7bn) money-laundering scheme described as “staggering” in its scope, authorities said.

Now Only €499

Avril Flanagan’s killer apologised to her family moments after dramatically confessing in court that he had stabbed his ex-girlfriend nearly 50 times — an attack during which she was conscious the entire time.

JEFFERSON FARFAN struck twice as Schalke fought back from an early deficit to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Valencia last night.

A DRUGS “mule” on board a transatlantic jet was close to death, a court heard yesterday, after one of the bags of cocaine he swallowed burst in his stomach forcing the plane to perform an emergency landing at Shannon Airport.

A mother who admitted suffocating her two children with a plastic bag in a Spanish hotel room is expected to decide whether their bodies should be repatriated.

Costa Rica’s governing party candidate swept to an election victory today that made her the first woman president in the Central American nation.

Former Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton is recovering today after being taken to hospital after collapsing during a family holiday in Spain.

Organisers of the European Grand Prix are confident Fernando Alonso will be racing in Valencia in a fortnight's time.

Talks on resolving Honduras’ leadership crisis broke off after the interim government rejected a proposed compromise, saying a provision calling for ousted President Manuel Zelaya to serve out his term was “unacceptable”.

IT WAS rural Ireland’s version of Sunset Boulevard at “The Ploughing” in Cuffesgrange, Co Kilkenny, as an estimated 83,000 people flocked to the annual pageant of country life.

YESTERDAY a Nigerian, who has been charged with trying to sleep naked in a crib in the Redemptorist Church in Limerick on December 29, was remanded to prison following an assault in a hotel where he was accommodated by the State.

THE search for missing 15-year-old Dublin girl Amy Fitzpatrick will resume this morning for a second day and will concentrate on the area where she was last seen in the Costa del Sol.

LAST week, we received a packet of sliced, dried culinary mushrooms from a Czech girl we know.

WORLD Cup fans are accustomed to the yellow of Brazil, the blues of France and Italy and the stripes of Argentina and Paraguay. They should get ready for the elephants of Ivory Coast, the eagles of Tunisia and the black stars of Ghana.

A prisoner who was having marital problems killed his wife during a conjugal visit in a Costa Rican jail, officials said.

Darren Clarke’s liking for La Costa, even in torrential rain, continued today as he thrashed Davis Love by a record-equalling margin.

Two car bombs exploded today at popular resorts on Spain’s Costa del Sol, injuring four British tourists, one seriously.

Spanish police have seized a large cache of explosives which the Basque terror group ETA planned to use to attack Costa tourist targets during next week’s EU heads of state summit.

There is no stage finer for a player with a point to prove than the World Cup, and Turkey’s Hakan Sukur will be eyeing the finals as an opportunity to establish himself in a principle role.

Kevin Keegan’s World Cup dream was rudely interrupted by a split-second of German opportunism, but he will watch on admiringly as Paulo Wanchope makes the trek east with Costa Rica.