Leinster have three nominees for the European Player of the Year award.

Officials from England and France sold visions of a bright new order, when they took a wrecking ball to the Heineken Cup, writes Brendan O’Brien

If transport capacity to and from the island of Ireland is a measure of economic activity, then we are set for period of expansion in 2018.

Aer Lingus has been named as one of the top airlines for a short-haul holiday.

Cork could become a major centre for the development of pilots as a global dearth in filling the roles grows over the next decade.

A Turkish Airlines cargo plane has crashed into a residential area just outside Kyrgyzstan's main international airport, killing at least 37 people.

A Turkish Airlines cargo plane has crashed into a residential area just outside Kyrgyzstan's main international airport, killing at least 32 people.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Heavy snowfall and below-freezing temperatures have continued to sweep the European continent, causing more than a dozen deaths, grounding planes and crippling ferries in Italy and Turkey.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley has forcecast the Tour will have a competitive floodlit golf event — or possibly even a floodlit tournament — at the Turkish Airlines Open next year.

Four years after apologising for allegedly headbutting a photographer, the Turkish Golf Federation president has given Rory McIlroy both barrels for skipping the $7m Turkish Airlines Open.

Lufthansa has given a gloomy outlook for the key summer season and said it would focus on reducing costs after attacks in Europe deterred passengers from booking trips, creating price pressure for the German airline and its European rivals.

Turkey has issued warrants for the detention of 47 former executives and senior journalists of the Zaman newspaper, allegedly associated with a US-based Muslim cleric accused over the failed coup, according to the state-run news agency.

Pope Francis has blessed the eyes of a five-year-old Ohio girl who suffers from a rare genetic disease that is gradually robbing her of her sight.

Aer Lingus has made it onto a list of the top 10 European carriers based on passenger reviews.

FlyDubai’s top executive said yesterday that conditions for landing were appropriate when one of its flights crashed at a windy airport in southern Russia, even though three other carriers rerouted flights to other destinations.

A suspected suicide bomber who blew a hole in the fuselage of a Daallo Airlines plane last week and forced it to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu was meant to be on a Turkish Airlines flight, the Daallo chief executive said.

Shannon Airport saw a massive increase in aircraft diversions in 2015, with 319 planes making unscheduled landings.

Irish airports and airspace will handle over one million flights by the end of this year — but Cork and Shannon airports have both suffered significant drops in traffic.

Aviation giant Turkish Airlines is considering new flights out of Cork Airport.

PRICE CUT

Emerging markets bore the brunt of a clamour for safety as Europe’s worst terror attack in more than a decade exacerbated a sell-off driven by deteriorating global economic growth and looming US interest-rate increases.

Munster boss Anthony Foley insists the province are determined to hang onto Ireland wing Simon Zebo and is hopeful a new deal can be reached in the coming weeks to head off Toulon interest.

Making the extraordinary feel routine is a trick only the greats can master, and while Rory McIlroy is favourite to win his third Race to Dubai crown in four years, Shane Lowry has a fast-track to the Ryder Cup in mind at this week’s Turkish Airlines Open.

Call it addiction or obsession but the desire of a professional golfer to remain on tour even when there are a million reasons not to be there goes beyond all logic.

Profits at the independent Shannon Airport have jumped 34% in just one year with passenger numbers up 17% and European traffic up 70%.

From bustling bazaars by the Bosphorus, to following in the footsteps of The Fisherman, Eoin Edwards gained a once-in-a-lifetime experience when he undertook a tour of Istanbul and the Holy Land.

David Cameron has urged schools to recognise their role in the “fight against Islamist extremist terror” as police urgently try to trace three girls believed to have fled to Syria to join Islamic State.

TG4 bosses remain hopeful the station can secure highlights rights to the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup.

TAX evaders take holidays too, and they might want to consider Northern Cyprus for their next vacation.

A Hamas rocket exploded near Israel’s main airport, prompting a ban on flights from the US and many from Europe and Canada.

More than €110,000 was recouped from airlines for passengers affected by flight disruptions last year.

Turkish Airlines could be poised to succeed RaboDirect as sponsors of the Pro12 tournament.

From budget breaks in Bodrum to direct flights to Canada, Travel Writer of the Year Pól Ó Conghaile picks his top overseas destinations for 2014.

Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increased by 1.1 million to 20.2 million last year, it was announced today.

Kobe Bryant and Messi face off in selfie showdown

Graeme McDowell insists he’s not about to hit the panic button despite losing ground to Race to Dubai front-runner Henrik Stenson on the opening day of the final event of the season.

There was no Turkish delight for Pádraig Harrington in Antalya yesterday, while an absent Graeme McDowell has lost his second place in the Race to Dubai.