Latest: Angela Merkel has conceded that "of course we would have preferred a better result, that's completely clear".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday stood by her decision to open Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees two years ago.

British authorities are to begin testing eggs for any traces of a banned insecticide which has caused a food scare in the Netherlands.

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti will face no further action over an offensive gesture he made following his side's 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Popular support for Chancellor Angela Merkel has plunged according to a poll conducted after attacks in Germany, with almost two-thirds of Germans unhappy with her refugee policy.

Four victims of abuser and former Olympic swimming coach Gerard Doyle yesterday settled their High Court actions.

While the bombings in Paris and Brussels are being seen as an attack on Europe as a whole, forging a collective EU response to global terrorism will be very difficult, writes Lucian Kim

A nationalist, anti-migration party has powered into three German state legislatures in elections held amid divisions over chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal approach to the refugee crisis.

Paula Radcliffe has warned that “many innocent athletes” face being implicated in the doping scandal currently engulfing athletics following allegations of large-scale blood test irregularities.

Paula Radcliffe has passionately denied ever cheating during her career and said she was “devastated” to have been linked to widespread doping allegations which have engulfed athletics.

Paula Radcliffe has said she is “devastated that my name has even been linked” to wide-ranging accusations of cheating in athletics.

German chancellor Angela Merkel’s popularity has dropped abruptly over her handling of Europe’s refugee crisis, a poll for ARD television network has shown.

Twenty-eight athletes have been suspended over historic doping offences, the International Association of Athletics Federations announced last night.

Allegations international athletics body the IAAF turned a blind eye to suspicious blood tests involving hundreds of athletes have been strenuously denied by the organisation.

The outgoing president of international athletics has defended the organisation’s record on drug-testing and called the latest dopingallegations “a joke”.

The World Anti-Doping Agency said it is alarmed by “wild allegations” made by two European media outlets of widespread suspicious drug tests in track and field, and is asking an independent body to investigate.

The Clare and Dublin camogie teams will learn of their championship fate via a YouTube video this morning.

A district judge finalised his decision about a dog who bit and injured a girl and, after seeing a DVD of the dog being walked where children were present, said the owner could keep the dog.

A district judge said he wanted to see video evidence of how safe a dog was around children before deciding what should become of the Golden Retriever who bit an 11-year-old girl last summer.

The EU needs to start making plans for a “state of emergency” in Greece from the start of next month if Athens fails to reach an agreement with its creditors, Germany’s EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said yesterday.

“This Government gives with one hand and it takes back twice as much with the other. And families who can least afford the extra bills are getting hammered.

Alexis Tsipras is visiting Germany for the first time since becoming Greece’s prime minister.

Irish broadcasting was plunged into mourning yesterday with the passing of DJ Tony Fenton, after a battle with prostate cancer.

A new doping scandal involving Russian athletes has erupted after the IAAF confirmed it is investigating allegations race walker Elena Lashmanova, who won gold at the London Olympics, took part in a race in December despite being subject to a two-year doping ban.

IAAF president Lamine Diack has raised the prospect of Russia’s athletics chief withdrawing from his duties until an investigation into allegations of systematic doping and cover-ups is concluded.

Athletics is at the centre of fresh claims about doping after it was alleged the sport’s world governing body the IAAF turned a blind eye to suspicious blood tests involving 150 athletes including from the UK.

The leaders of Russia and Germany squared off over Ukraine from opposite sides of the globe.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned that Western sanctions against his country could backfire.

"O Captain! My Captain!"

Last year’s league finalists clash in round six with both still in contention of a semi-final spot with Mickey Harte’s men in a slightly more favourable position.

Pro-life and anti-austerity groups are planning to mount protests at Fine Gael's national conference.

Angela Merkel’s conservatives triumphed in Germany’s election and could even win the first single-party majority in more than 50 years.

An exit poll indicates that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives have emerged by far the strongest force in Germany’s election, though it is unclear whether her coalition partners will stay in parliament.

A Fianna Fáil Senator has used the debate on education at the party's Ard Fheis to call for a continuation of pro-life policies.

Online retailer Amazon has said it will investigate reports that temporary staff at its logistics centres in Germany were subjected to a climate of intimidation.

Got a big family or group of friends looking to spend Christmas or New Year together? Pooling the cost of a big house could be the best gift of all, says Pól Ó Conghaile

Germany coach Joachim Low was satisfied with the way his players bounced back from the horror show against Sweden to end 2012 on a positive note in Holland last night.

A Sunday afternoon stroll in the autumn sunshine turned into tragedy yesterday when a two-year-old girl and her 12-week-old sister were killed when they were knocked down by a car.

The troika arrives back in Athens this morning with pressure mounting on the Greeks to speed up reforms as German politicians re-ignite the idea of kicking them out of the eurozone.