As I just wrote to friends living on a Mediterranean island: “It’s been summer here for the last few weeks, wonderful weather, 18C to 20C, but everything is very green or flowery, all the whitethorns in bloom and a procession of wildflowers in the ditches and on the old stone wall, mixes of colours and forms and vegetable constructions to take the breath away."

Damien Enright visited Ibiza to discuss a book he has written about the time he spent there between 1961 and 1965

Latest figures released by the EU show that Ireland had the lowest percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) spent on its Defence Forces of any of the EU’s 28 member states.

Police in Sicily say 15 firefighters are suspected of setting blazes that they were then called to extinguish.

The British passenger who posed for a photo with his alleged captor on the hijacked Egyptian plane said it has to be “the best selfie ever”.

Latest: Seven people, including three passengers, are being held hostage aboard the EgyptAir plane after it diverted to Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island during a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo.

A €50m new ship undergoing final sea trials, the LÉ James Joyce, could be delivered to the Naval Service within days.

The Government will not accept delivery of a new €50 million-plus navy ship until problems with its propulsion system have been fixed.

A Maltese naval crew will arrive in Haulbowline in the next few weeks to be trained to operate the LÉ Aoife, which was gifted to Malta amid some controversy.

It may be twinned with Waterford, but the Maltese military’s ‘snub’ of an offer to take the naval vessel LÉ Aoife free of charge has angered Cork county councillors.

Ryanair is to use its next big Boeing order to compete with the likes of Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways on routes from Ireland and Britain to the Gulf States and northern Africa.

Ryanair Holdings Plc will submit a non-binding offer for Cyprus Airways tomorrow as Europe’s No 1 discount carrier seeks to extend its footprint eastward to an island increasingly popular with Russian and Israeli visitors.

About 55,000 students will cram into exam halls around the country for this year’s Leaving Certificate.

The American warship where an al-Qaida suspect was interrogated after being snatched from Libya by US special forces has come to the rescue of 120 Somali migrants.

Cyprus’s relations with Russia are taking a severe battering.

Cypriot leaders are to decide today on a newly drawn-up plan aimed at securing a bailout for the near-bankrupt eurozone member, after parliament rejected a controversial tax on savings.

A bailout plan to stop Cyprus’ financial system collapsing threatens a raid on small depositors’ savings, a precedent that may worry other countries, writes Hugo Dixon

It is being hailed as a miracle in a conflict that has seen endless misery.

Cyprus won support from its eurozone partners last night for emergency funding to prop up its banks, crippled by their Greek debt holdings.

Russell Grant has been approached to represent Malta in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

SATURDAY

At least 10 people were feared dead after a huge explosion – thought to have been caused by a brush fire setting light to containers of gunpowder – tore through a Cypriot National Guard naval base today, the Defence Ministry said.

Around 10 people are feared dead following a massive explosion at a naval base in Cyprus today, a Defence Ministry spokeswoman said.

MYSTERY surrounds the whereabouts of 10 students from Tripoli, Libya, who were due to take their Leaving Certificate English papers in Malta yesterday.

IRISH officials last night used the Government jet to evacuate 16 EU nationals, including three Irish nationals from Tripoli airport.

Two Government planes are on standby in Malta to evacuate 40 Irish citizens trying to flee Libya.

About 350 United Nations staff based in Egypt will be evacuated to Cyprus or the United Arab Emirates, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission on the Mediterranean island said today.

Cairo’s international airport was a scene of chaos and confusion today as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest in Egypt and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

A man who vanished from Kenmare with the body of his dead mother is believed to have taken her to the family burial plot in England, it emerged tonight.

ONE of the suspects in an alleged spy ring has confessed to US federal agents that he worked for Russia’s intelligence service, federal prosecutors said yesterday.

National politicians rate tackling issues in their own backyard as being more important than developing new laws, it was revealed today.

THE grieving partner of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately was yesterday comforted by his devastated bandmates.

A man who was at Stephen Gately’s Majorca apartment the night he died today described seeing the Boyzone star’s lifeless body.

The grieving partner of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately was today comforted by his devastated bandmates.

The family of Boyzone star Stephen Gately today rejected claims that he died after a marathon drinking session.

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s private conversations with an escort, which have riveted Italians all week, may wind up getting him into trouble with Italy’s archaeological authorities.

DAMIEN DUFF says he will welcome Stephen Ireland “with open arms” should the Manchester City player decide to return to the Irish team.

A woman who gave birth aboard a medical helicopter was killed last night, along with her newborn baby and three others, when the aircraft crashed in bad weather on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.

The United Nations has set up a team of experts in conflict mediation who can deploy quickly to global hotspots with advice on power sharing, constitution drafting, security, justice and human rights.

Shaun Murphy has opened up a healthy 5-2 lead over Ken Doherty in today’s Malta Cup final in Portomaso.

A French naval frigate has discovered the bodies of at least 16 people floating in the Mediterranean in recent days, maritime officials said last night.

Globetrotters were given yet another opportunity to spread their wings today when budget airline easyJet announced the start of a scheduled service from Belfast to the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza.

Turkey’s prime minister accused the European Union of not treating the issue of Cyprus fairly but said his country still wants to join the 25-nation bloc and will continue to work to meet the criteria for membership.

The European Union today failed to persuade Turkey to change its stance over EU member Cyprus, further jeopardising Ankara’s bid to join the bloc.

Reports now indicate that an Irishman who died when his boat overturned off the coast of Cyprus had suffered a heart attack.

Steve Staunton's injury-depleted Irish squad are due to hold their first training session in Nicosia today ahead of Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Cyprus.

Cyprus has released three British former soldiers jailed for the brutal 1994 rape and killing of a young woman at a popular tourist resort, an official said today.

Israeli warplanes struck the runways of Lebanon’s only international airport in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs early today, forcing the airport to shut down.