The remains of a German hiker who went missing almost exactly three decades ago have been found in an Alpine glacier, police in south-western Switzerland said.

Dan Martin jumped back up to sixth overall but conceded precious time to race leader Chris Froome in yesterday’s 17th stage of the Tour de France, the Irishman now trailing by 2:37 with four stages remaining.

The candidates for the International Dublin Literary Award (former Impac) have just been announced. Alan O’Riordan looks at the contenders for the €100,000 prize.

Federer’s longevity is rooted in how emotionally unaffected he was by setbacks.

Goodbye, the Alpine mountains of Toblerone; hello, heartbreak ridge.

French officials have identified the second man involved in the murder of a priest in a Normandy church during morning Mass.

The address may sound Alpine, but the shortest of downhill walks brings you from Tirol Avenue, on suburban Cork’s Maryborough Hill, to the flat of Douglas village.

A team of geologists has been tracking a shrinking glacier on the Monte Rosa mountain on the border between Italy and Switzerland.

Open Championship hero Paul Dunne has stayed true to his instincts and confirmed he will remain an amateur until after the Walker Cup this September.

US president Barack Obama said G7 leaders meeting in the Bavarian Alps yesterday would discuss standing up to Russian aggression in Ukraine amid an upsurge in violence there that monitors have blamed on Moscow-backed separatists.

Just over a week after a Germanwings plane crashed into the French Alps, investigators have finished retrieving human remains from the wreckage.

The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 that crashed into the French Alps last week had received treatment for suicidal tendencies several years ago.

All the news you need this lunchtime: Bailey verdict could be delivered today, FF: Irish Water to delete council tenant data, Shane Long calls for fortress Aviva, earthquake in South Pacific, Donohue: Aer Lingus talks to end in next few weeks

Three people have been found dead in a Swiss Alpine town, police say.

We know no one likes the dentist but this seems a bit extreme...

An injured researcher stuck deep inside an Alpine cave in Germany is able to walk with help, but an operation to bring him out could still take several days, mountain rescue officials said.

Michael Schumacher has “moments of consciousness and awakening“, his spokeswoman said, in a sign of progress months after the Formula One legend suffered devastating brain injuries in a ski accident.

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler might have married a woman of Jewish descent, according to DNA analysis conducted for a Channel 4 documentary.

Fans of Michael Schumacher gathered for a silent vigil for the Formula One legend’s 45th birthday as he lay in a coma in a French hospital after a skiing accident last Sunday.

The route of the 2014 Tour de France, which begins in Britain, includes five mountain finishes and just one individual time-trial, organisers announced this morning.

Before the late 1990s/early 2000s, skiing was very much a minority sport in Ireland, but then the boom times came and changed our expectations of life forever.

Switzerland voted overwhelmingly yesterday to keep military conscription — the third time citizens of the Alpine nation had rejected an attempt to reconstitute an institution regarded by many Swiss as a national “glue”.

FOR most of the year The Burren is more moonscape than landscape.

A trust fund based in the Alpine tax haven of Liechtenstein has made a €3.25m settlement with the State over tax affairs.

A new agreement with Switzerland aimed at ending a long-running dispute over German tax cheats who hide their money in Swiss banks, has been blocked by Germany’s upper house of Parliament.

France will unveils its 2013 budget today, seen as a test of whether Socialist president Francois Hollande is serious about cutting government spending and reforming the country’s economy.

Tommy Barker slipped and sloped back into skiing after 30 years away, with some chalet highlife in spectacular Meribel.

You’ve the squad memorised, and the tactics sussed. Ben Lyttleton and Iain MacIntosh help broaden fans’ minds a little further with some topographical titbits on the other 15 nations at Euro 2012.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a personal Twitter account and geared up for a prime-time TV appearance amid expectations he will at last announce his re-election bid.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy will announce his bid for re-election tonight, setting the stage for what he hopes will be a dramatic comeback against his poll-leading Socialist rival, a source in his office said.

This individual triangular home has lake views to sweeten the deal, writes Tommy Barker.

A SMALL blast shattered two windows but caused no injuries at a hotel used by top business and political leaders attending the World Economic Forum, Swiss police said yesterday.

A small blast has broken windows at a hotel near where the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos, Switzerland.

THE world’s longest tunnel will be created today when a massive drilling machine breaks through the last few inches of rock beneath the Alps.

The world's longest tunnel will be created tomorrow when a massive drilling machine breaks through the last few inches of rock underneath the Alps.

All rafters missing after their boats capsized in an Alpine river in western Austria have been found, the Red Cross said today.

EVEN in a drenching summer in Ireland, there’s no shortage of things to do if you wish to enjoy our natural heritage.

A popular Alpine tourist train derailed in southern Switzerland, killing one person and injuring 42 others, yesterday.

THE farewell victory Lance Armstrong hoped for failed to materialise yesterday as the seven-time Tour de France winner was beaten to the line in Pau.

Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong insists "I sleep like a baby" after denying the ongoing investigation into doping allegations levelled at him by Floyd Landis was behind his poor Tour de France display.

ANDY SCHLECK has laid down the gauntlet to Alberto Contador as the race for the Tour de France became a duel following yesterday’s second Alpine stage.