Show jumper Denis Lynch is within striking distance of qualifying for the World Cup after finishing runner-up with All Star in the penultimate qualifier in Zurich, Switzerland, yesterday.

Fifa’s ethics court is expected to ban Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the scandal-scarred football body’s most powerful leaders, today.

The multi-platinum singer will now play the following extra dates:

A jury in the trial of a woman accused of helping her friend take her own life has been ordered to find her not guilty on two of the three charges against her due to a lack of evidence.

A woman accused of helping her friend take her own life told gardaí that another person was with the deceased when she took a lethal dose of barbiturates.

A woman accused of helping her friend take her own life denied to gardaí she knowingly paid for lethal drugs for the deceased.

The jury in the trial of a woman accused of assisting the suicide of her friend has heard the recorded last words of the deceased.

Equestrian: "It’s a bit cold for Florida, but it’s all relative, I suppose," joked Conor Swail yesterday.

Equestrian: Nineteen-year-old Bertram Allen continues to stun the world of show jumping, qualifying for the Longines World Cup final yesterday in his first season when runner-up in Zurich, Switzerland.

A new study has put Dublin as the best place in Europe - and second in the entire world - for US citizens to live in.

It was on Monday morning that Cameron Hanley found out he was to lose the ride on all but one of his top horses, taking to Facebook to say ‘it breaks my heart’.

Living The Dream lived up to its name yesterday for Mayo show jumper Alex Duffy, the pairing finishing third in a competitive grand prix in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ireland’s first and only “singing Christmas tree” is looking for choirs to help it spread the festive message in the coming weeks.

Show jumper Denis Lynch failed to make it to the second round of yesterday’s Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier in Zurich, Switzerland, posting nine faults with All Star.

A specially convened, three-judge division of the High Court is to decide whether a 59-year-old woman, in the final stages of multiple sclerosis, has a constitutional right to an assisted suicide.

Madonna has announced her 2012 World Tour. It includes a July 24 date in Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

MORE than anything, show jumper Jessica Kürten saw her first major grand prix win in over a year last Sunday as one of portent.

Show jumper Billy Twomey’s fourth place in the World Cup qualifier at Leipzig, Germany, has propelled him to the top of the Olympic rankings, according to Horse Sport Ireland, while Jessica Kürten posted her first major grand prix win in over a year in Amsterdam.

Two years ago, police in Zurich, Switzerland, led Roman Polanski away to prison - but the Oscar-winning director returned last night to a very different reception in the city.

HARD to imagine Lar Corbett or John Mullane coming out with that one and, indeed, neither did. The pithy statement was, rather, the summation of one of the players from a team known as the Wild Geese as they left the field following a game on Saturday.

IRISH show jumping has suffered another setback with the news yesterday that Jessica Kürten is unable to compete her top horses after a disagreement with their owner Lady Georgina Forbes.

NOVEMBER in Toronto and Dermott Lennon is in top form. Fourth in the World Cup qualifier with Hallmark Elite and, along the way, picking up a couple of decent placings.

HOLIDAY-MAKERS are warning people about staying in the five-star hotel where Michaela Harte was killed.

IRELAND show jumping manager Robert Splaine has given two of the next four Rolex World Cup slots to Jessica Kürten, with Cameron Hanley and Dermott Lennon sharing one apiece.

HEAVY snow and sub-zero temperatures swept across Europe, killing at least eight homeless people in Poland, closing major airports in Britain and Switzerland and causing hundreds of highway accidents.

Shakira has released dates for her European tour, including a December 16 gig in Dublin.

Ronan Keating wants to save his marriage.

Rihanna has promised her UK fans she will be fine to play despite her rib injury.

Whoopi Goldberg has defended Roman Polanski, saying he did not commit “rape-rape”.

An international row was brewing today over the arrest of film director Roman Polanski as artists and politicians leapt to his defence.

SIPTU last night criticised the Swiss management of airline maintenance firm SR Technics for not consulting with local staff before announcing the closure of its Dublin airport base with the loss of 1,135 jobs.

Campaigners opposed to Chinese rule in Tibet said tonight they planned to protest outside the site in southern Greece where the flame bound for the Beijing Olympics will be lit.

Jessica Kurten narrowly missed the jump-off for the Swiss Life Classic prize at Zurich, Switzerland today when she dropped a single pole in the first round.

Jessica Kurten added to her prize winnings at the five-star show in Zurich, Switzerland tonight, taking third place in the Swiss Masters competition.

Irish rider Jessica Kurten showed a return to form tonight when she placed third in the Credit Suisse Grand Prix at Zurich, Switzerland.

Luciano Pavarotti has postponed eight concerts on his world farewell tour because of back pain.

A Swiss International Airlines plane overshot the runway at Stuttgart airport today as it landed in snowy conditions, but no one was injured.

Survivors today launched a boat laden with flowers, candles and incense in the first ceremony marking one year since the Indian Ocean tsunami swept away at least 216,000 lives in one of the world’s worst natural disasters in memory.

FIFA has referred the investigation into Harry Kewell’s transfer from Leeds to Liverpool back to the Football Association – more than a year after taking up the case.

Irish showjumper Cian O’Connor lost his Olympic gold medal tonight after the sports governing body ruling that his horse had tested positive for banned substances.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter yesterday stepped up his campaign for professional referees by claiming such a move would help prevent corruption.

KEVIN BABINGTON is reserving his firepower until Sunday’s World Cup qualifier in Florida as he bids to book his ticket for the final.

Three-time Olympian Sonia O'Sullivan rounded off her track preparations for the 2004 Games with an encouraging third-place run at the Weltklasse meet tonight in Zurich, Switzerland.

Gunmen opened fire today at an oil refinery co-owned by Exxon Mobil and the Saudi company SABIC in north-western Saudi Arabia, killing at least two Britons, three Americans, an Australian and a Saudi, company officials and diplomats said.