Wales will go into the Six Nations against a back-drop of political unrest between the Welsh Rugby Union and professional regions, while none of those teams - Ospreys, Blues, Scarlets or Newport Gwent Dragons - were good enough to secure quarter-final places in either the Heineken Cup or Amlin Challenge Cup this season.
The pool winners and three best runners-up will secure quarter-final places.
Joachim Loew's team knew a win against Denmark would secure quarter-final qualification and top spot in Group B. Goals from Lukas Podolski and Lars Bender in their 2-1 vintory in Lviv achieved exactly that.
Ambassador Chris Stevens Matt Letscherr) arrives in Benghazi, proclaiming his desire to be housed in the embassy rather than more secure quarters.
A range of foreigners, including diplomats, students of Arabic, aid workers and journalists, have been abducted from once-secure quarters of Sana'a.
After the national team's nadir at the World Cup, the response of the English clubs has been impressive, a record five of them securing quarter-final berths in the Champions Cup.
Despite being publicly identified by the Algerian authorities as the European ringleader of the GIA and by French investigators as the key organiser, Touchent evaded capture, returned to Algeria and settled in a secure police quarter of Algiers.
Durham move up to fourth and need Notts to beat Worcestershire on Friday to secure a quarter-final spot.
Konta, ranked No66 in the world, had trailed 5-1 in the deciding set, but then reeled off the next six games to secure a quarter-final against Venus Williams.
Nottinghamshire had been the only team in the competition with an unbeaten record going into the game but they now face a battle to secure their quarter-final place with two more qualifying games to play.
LETTER FROM SENDAGAYA, a section of Tokyo, about postwar contrasts as seen by a World War II U.S. Army Japanese translator returning with his family… LETTER FROM SENDAGAYA, a section of central Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, tells how author & his family secured living quarter in the Kiyosawa house, sharing it….
