Tennis: Jelena Jankovic's bid for a first Grand Slam title was blown off court by a combination of Kaia Kanepi and strong, blustery winds at the US Open.

Tennis: Spain's Albert Montanes became the first man into the last 16 of the US Open after Japan's Kei Nishikori was forced to retire from their third round match at Flushing Meadows.

Golf:Ireland's Peter Lawrie charged through the field with an eight-under-par 63 in the third round of the Omega European Masters in Switzerland, but he'll need something similar again if he is to have any hope of catching Miguel Angel Jimenez, who takes a three-stroke lead over Ryder Cup team-mate Edoardo Molinari into the final round.

Racing: Cape Blanco made all the running to give Aidan O'Brien a sixth success in the Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Seamie Heffernan simply ran his rivals into the ground over the mile and a quarter to easily beat his stablemate Rip Van Winkle.

Detectives in the North today named a man (32) murdered in Armagh as Kevin Fletcher.

Four men have been arrested following a protest in Dublin city centre this morning where former British prime minister Tony Blair held a public book signing, the first since his memoirs were released this week.

Soccer:Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington is promising Italy "a hell of a game" at Windsor Park next month when the teams meet in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Controversial singer Morrissey has been accused of “crude racism” after describing Chinese people as a “sub-species” because of their treatment of animals.

Cricket:Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi on Saturday apologised for the controversy surrounding the spot-fixing allegations Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have been charged with "various offences" under Article 2 of the ICC's anti-corruption code relating to alleged irregular behaviour during and in relation to the fourth Test between England and Pakistan.

Following a day of glorious sunshine, rain fell on the Electric Picnic this afternoon, but it has started to brighten up.

Airline pilots today accused Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary of endangering the safety of passengers with a call to do away with the second pilot on the flight deck of aircraft to save money.

Soccer: Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane is fit for Tuesday night's Euro 2012 qualifier against Andorra after he suffered no reaction to his knee injury in Armenia. The 30-year-old striker, who has been struggling with the problem, was substituted shortly after Keith Fahey's winning goal at the Yerevan Republican Stadium last night.

Golf: Ireland's Rebecca Coakley is two shots off the lead at the end of the first round of the UNIQA Ladies Open at Golf Club Foehrenwald in Wiener Neustadt, Germany.

French unions began a week of protests today with a Paris rally that could provide an early measure of resistance to pension reforms on which President Nicolas Sarkozy has staked his political reputation.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to a series of direct talks on Thursday as they seek to forge the framework for a US-backed peace deal within a year and end a conflict that has boiled for six decades.

Pro-Taliban Pakistani militants are trying to fuel a sectarian rift, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said today, as a new wave of violence piled pressure on a government already struggling with a flood crisis.

An Irishman is among nine people who died today after a light aircraft crashed and burst into flames in New Zealand, police said.

Authorities in New Zealand have declared an curfew for Saturday night after a major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city, Christchurch, bringing down power lines and bridges and wrecking roads and building facades.

Euro 2012 Group G review:A hat-trick from Jermain Defoe and an outstanding goalkeeping performance by Joe Hart helped England to a comfortable 4-0 win over Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 Group G qualifier at Wembley Stadium.