Michael Lyster, one of RTÉ Sport’s most familiar presenters, has died aged 71.Lyster began his journalism career at The Tuam Herald in County Galway before moving to RTÉ around 1980.In his first year with the broadcaster he covered the Moscow Olympic Games and soon became a regular voice across its sports output. He took over presenting duties on The Sunday Game in 1984 and remained closely...

Ministers are considering slowing HS2 trains as a way to reduce costs after the high-speed rail project ran into delays and ballooning budgets.The transport department has asked the company building the London-to-Birmingham section to study whether trains could initially operate at a lower top speed.A formal update on the programme’s timetable and cost is now expected only after the May...

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has publicly addressed her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, saying she was misled and expressing regret for not checking his background more closely.The 20-minute interview with public broadcaster NRK came after seven weeks of silence, following the release of millions of documents by the US Department of Justice.Those files showed the crown princess exchanged...

CCTV footage has captured people approaching ambulances shortly before several vehicles serving a Jewish community were set alight in north London.The Metropolitan Police say the incident, which damaged four Hatzola ambulances, is being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.Fire crews were called to Highfield Road in Golders Green at about 01:40 GMT after reports of the blaze. The London...

Germany's shortage of skilled workers has pushed employers to recruit abroad, and India has emerged as a major source of talent.With retirees outnumbering young entrants, businesses from bakeries to construction sites are looking overseas to keep operations running.Demographic trends are at the heart of the problem. A recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation found Germany needs roughly 288,000...

France’s Socialist-led administrations kept control of the country’s four biggest cities — Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille — in local elections that offered a boost to established parties ahead of next year’s presidential vote.The night also saw gains for both the far left and far right, with notable wins for a Le Pen ally in Nice and for France Unbowed (LFI) in Roubaix, underscoring a...

Michael Lyster, one of the most recognisable voices in Irish sports broadcasting, has died at the age of 71.He was best known as the presenter of The Sunday Game, a role he held for more than three decades.Lyster began his journalism career at The Tuam Herald in County Galway before moving to RTÉ around 1979–1980. In his first year with the broadcaster he was part of the team covering the...

Danish authorities reportedly prepared to disable key Greenland airstrips to stop a potential US seizure of the Arctic territory, the Danish broadcaster DR has reported.DR says its account is based on a dozen sources inside Denmark's government and military, plus officials in France and Germany, and the Financial Times later said two European diplomats corroborated parts of the story.According to...

Italy is holding a weekend referendum on changes to its constitution that would alter how judges and prosecutors are governed.What began as a technical tweak has morphed into a political showdown that could reshape Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s standing.The measure would split the career tracks of judges and prosecutors, set up separate governing bodies for each and create a new disciplinary...

Unconfirmed US reports say Iran launched two ballistic missiles toward the US-UK base on Diego Garcia, but neither weapon hit its target.One missile reportedly malfunctioned mid-flight and the other was intercepted by a US naval vessel, though the exact timing of the launches remains unclear.The BBC says the accounts are credible, and Britain’s Ministry of Defence accused Iran of escalating...