A disastrous start left Ireland with an impossible task when they fell 19-0 behind after just 15 minutes at Stadio Zaffanella last night.

ENGLAND: The success of crime shows, including Sherlock, has created a nation of amateur sleuths, according to a survey-

A suspected football match-fixer has been arrested after landing in Milan on a flight from Singapore, Italian police said.

Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has described the latest match-fixing scandal to hit Italy as "devastating" and believes it further tarnishes the image of Italian football.

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri and former Genoa midfielder Omar Milanetto have been arrested by police in connection with a match-fixing probe in Italy.

Atalanta, Siena and Novara are the Serie A clubs facing accusations of manipulation of games and bet frauds, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed yesterday.

ICONIC violinist Nigel Kennedy will join the Cork Symphony Orchestra to perform one of his favourite concertos on Friday.

SIMONE FARINA is an unlikely football hero.

Former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni was arrested today in connection with another match-fixing probe in Italy.

A massive oil slick released from a depot in Italy reached the country’s longest river today, threatening devastation to wildlife.

An Italian medical board today cleared a doctor who disconnected the respirator of a paralysed man who had sought to die, in the latest development of a case that split Italy.

YET again Europe was in the throes of war. Volunteers from every street and parish in Ireland died in their thousands.

A STRADIVARIUS violin last night smashed records to become the most expensive musical instrument sold at auction.

Authorities have recovered works of art worth €1.5m that had been stolen from churches, castles and private homes throughout northern Italy since 1990, the Carabinieri paramilitary police said today.

Jason Euell and John Aloisi have emerged as the latest targets for Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin.

CLONING has galloped forward with the creation of a stallion from a castrated horse race champion, it was revealed yesterday.

A NURSE found a cello by master craftsman Antonio Stradivari lying by a bin — and almost had it converted into a CD holder.

Italian authorities have arrested three Moroccan men for allegedly supporting terrorist cells linked to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, Italian state radio reported today.

SCIENTISTS have succeeded in creating the world’s first cloned horse, it emerged yesterday.

Police in Italy have arrested a Kenyan-born arms and diamond dealer suspected of links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.