Hanif Kureishi, the English novelist and playwright of Pakistani extraction, is best known for acclaimed work like My Beautiful Laundrette, Intimacy and ‘The Buddha of Suburbia, which won the Whitbread First Novel Award in 1990. Frequently ambitious in terms of subject matter and exploring the boundaries of genre, new work by him is always eagerly anticipated.

A coroner has said it was “quite shocking” that no investigation was carried out in France into an accident in the Alps which claimed the lives of two Irish mountaineers.

VARIETY is the spice of life, is it not? We should be open to new things and seek to experience as many different activities and places as possible.

Dan MacCarthy dodges torrents of melting glacier water, tries to emulate Bear Grylls, and meets interesting comrades as he treks in some of Europe’s most beautiful scenery around Mont Blanc.

Three train cars derailed and 11 people were injured after a Swiss mountain train ran into a landslide in the Alps. Miraculously, no one was killed.

Six French climbers died in a fall on France’s Mont Blanc after a night of snow and wind on western Europe’s tallest mountain.

Five French climbers have died in a fall on France’s Mont Blanc, officials said, after a night of snow and wind on western Europe’s tallest mountain.

Five climbers have died on Mont Blanc and a sixth is missing, according to a mayor in the French Alps.

Funeral ceremonies for the two Irish climbers who died last week following a fall on Mont Blanc took place at the weekend.

The family of a climber killed in an avalanche in Italy have spoken of their devastation at the death of their youngest son.

Irish families living in Italy have offered their help to the family of the latest victim of a climbing accident on the Alps.

A 40-year-old Cork man has died in a climbing incident in Italy.

Two Irishmen have died on Mont Blanc, it has emerged today.

The body of a French climber who disappeared during a snowstorm in 1982 has been discovered on the slopes of Mont Blanc.

INMATE HID IN LAUNDRY BASKET TO ESCAPE

IT IS seven days post-op, 10pm, and I’m in the upstairs bathroom trying to fix a raised toilet seat to our existing one.

FRANKLY, I don’t think being in a state of denial comes naturally to me. But you don’t get better at something by not doing it, so I’ve been practicing assiduously for two weeks.

A French climber scaling a glacier off Mont Blanc got more than satisfaction for his efforts when he stumbled across a treasure trove of emeralds, rubies and sapphires that had been buried for decades.

It is very, very cool.

From scaling mountain peaks to iconic global landmarks — Cork and Clare hurling fans are going to great lengths and heights to show their true colours ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland showdown.

Vedani, a costly failure at Killarney last time, gets the nap in the Follow Gowran Park On Facebook Handicap at the Co. Kilkenny track tonight.

Two more climbers have died on Mont Blanc in the Alps following the deaths of nine people last week in a massive avalanche.

A memorial service is taking place today in the French resort of Chamonix for the climbers killed in an avalanche in the French Alps.

Two more Britons killed in a major avalanche in the French Alps were named by the Foreign Office today.

The mountaineering world has led tributes to one of the UK’s most respected climbers after he was killed alongside two other Britons in a devastating avalanche.

A climber trying to scale Mont Blanc may have accidentally caused a slab of ice to snap off high in the French Alps, sparking an avalanche which swept nine European climbers to their deaths, authorities said.

Police have confirmed that four climbers missing after an avalanche in the French Alps are alive.

A climber trying to scale Mont Blanc accidentally caused a slab of ice to snap off, sparking an avalanche high in the French Alps which swept nine European climbers to their deaths, authorities said.

Nine climbers have been killed in an avalanche in the French Alps, according to French authorities.

An avalanche in the French Alps has killed six climbers and injured six others, authorities said today.

They aim to become the first Irish father and son to climb Africa’s highest mountain together and in the process raise funds for a charity which transports cancer sufferers from West Cork to Cork University Hospital for treatment.

THE hills come alive next weekend for a small Tipperary parish that a decade ago had no tradition of hill-walking but has now established itself as a national hub for trail walking and outdoor pursuits.

SITUATED mid-way between Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is the gateway to a marvellous winter playground of 650km of ski-slopes.

Morzine is a cracking little hideaway nestled at the foot of the French Alps and ideal for both the novice and expert skier. Book a chalet, says Brian Canty, and enjoy the slide.

Engineers are draining an immense lake that has built up under an glacier on Mont Blanc hoping to prevent a repeat of a flood that killed 175 people more than 100 years ago.

Two British climbers were rescued from Mont Blanc in Italy today after getting stuck 3,500 metres up the mountain.

Two British climbers have died in the French Alps after falling more than 1,000ft off a mountain.

TRADITIONALLY, it is the bride who arrives late for her wedding – but one British groom was forgiven for his tardiness after rowing across the Atlantic to tie the knot.

DOCTORS say Pope Benedict XVI will have to stay in a cast for a month after breaking his right wrist in a fall in his chalet while vacationing in the Italian Alps.

The pope had to undergo an operation today after falling and breaking his wrist at his holiday home in the Alps.

A father, his son and two daughters all fell to their deaths climbing Mont Blanc as their mother looked on in horror today.

EATING lots of broccoli helped 10-year-old Sean McSharry become Europe’s youngest person to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

NOT everyone on Merseyside is celebrating Tuesday night’s extraordinary victory over Arsenal.