Rugby:Adam D’Arcy’s pre-season form has earned the Australian a one-year contract with Ulster. The fullback has been on trial with the northern province and will start tonight’s Magners League curtain-raiser against the Ospreys.

Soccer:Liverpool striker Fernando Torres’ return to full fitness is ahead of schedule but the club’s medical staff do not expect him to reach his physical peak for another month.

The European Union's executive distanced itself today from comments by its trade chief Karel De Gucht that a European Jewish group called an incitement to anti-Semitism.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern appears to have backed down over his suggestion to ask banks to introduce charges on ATM withdrawals after the move was widely criticised.

From the clash of the ash to the heat of Armenia to scrums in the provinces there’s plenty on offer for sports fans this weekend.

The cost of immediately winding up Anglo Irish Bank could be more than €70 billion and would not be interest of the taxpayer, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said.

US employment fell for a third straight month in August, but the decline was far less than expected and private payrolls growth surprised on the upside, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to prop up growth.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O'Keeffe today revealed he has asked Forfás to examine allegations that people are turning down jobs paying €25,000 a year because they are losing out on social welfare entitlements.

Although 83 per cent of small and medium-sized firms now have their own websites, just 28 per cent of them use the internet to sell their goods and services, according to new research.

Fidel Castro dusted off his military fatigues for the first time since stepping down as president four years ago, a symbolic act in a Communist country where little signals often carry enormous significance.

A man was shot in the leg in west Belfast last night.

Gardaí have appealed to the public for information on a serious assault in Dublin city last weekend.

Motor Sport:Formula One's governing body is investigating how Ferrari's Felipe Massa was able to make a false start at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix without any race officials or rival teams noticing.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O'Keeffe today dismissed a call by Labour spokesman Ruairi Quinn for Fás to be abolished.

Just over half of the 40 striking Bord na Móna workers at a power station in Co Longford returned to work this morning.

Credit-default swaps linked to the senior debt of Anglo Irish Bank have jumped to the highest level since July 2009, according to data provider CMA.

European Commission in Dublin director Martin Territt has said European funding for jobs training  has de facto been withdrawn for Ireland because of problems encountered with audit trails for funds given to Fás.

A judge has started reading out a Portuguese court's verdicts on more than 800 alleged crimes in a major child sex abuse trial that has lasted nearly six years.

The man charged with the murder of Dublin schoolgirl Michaela Davis (12) appeared in court this morning.

Australian actor Paul Hogan has been cleared to return home to the United States after he was barred last month from leaving Australia because of a disputed tax bill, his lawyer said today.