Daithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas team up to host this year’s Rose of Tralee

RTÉ yesterday announced that Kathryn Thomas will join Dáithí Ó Sé as co-host for the Rose of Tralee 2023.

The pair will make history as the first ever joint presenters of RTÉ’s coverage of the Festival, broadcasting live from the Kerry Sports Academy at the Munster Technological University (MTU) on August 21st and 22nd.

32 Roses will represent the Irish diaspora worldwide this year from Rose Centres across Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond.

This year will mark Dáithí’s 12th year presenting the show, and new presenter Kathryn can’t wait to join him onstage and meet this year’s International Roses.

Kathryn said: “I'm honoured and so ex- cited to join Daithí and the team as cohost of this year's Rose of Tralee. The Festival has such an incredible legacy in Ireland and all around the world – no better way to celebrate such incredible women. I've grown up watching it each year, so it's very special to get the opportunity to present alongside Daithí. I can’t wait to get started. Tralee here we come!”

Daithí said: “I'm over the moon to be back presenting the Rose of Tralee for another year, and to welcome my wonderful new co-host Kathryn to the Rose of Tralee family! Kathryn and I have known and worked with each other for over two decades, so no doubt that there's plenty of craic in store. We can't wait to meet this year's incredible 32 Roses, and make our way to Tralee. Seo linn!”

Greek wildfires reach outskirts of Athens

Wildfires reached the outskirts of Athens on Thursday as strong winds cause flare-ups around Greece, disrupting motorway traffic and rail services.

The fires have raged across parts of the country during three successive Mediterranean heatwaves over the past two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge evacuation of tourists on the island of Rhodes. the business, he has just purchased a carriage style hearse, a Honda Goldwing 1800 Trike Motorcycle - believed to be the first of its kind in Munster. It is fully enclosed and decked with a walnut bed and leather lining.

“I always wanted to bring a unique service to Kerry,” Sean, who bought his first motorbike aged 16, said.

Sean’s goal is to make the motorcycle hearse available to everyone, not just members of the biking community.

Privacy group NOYB, challenges Ryanair's use of facial recognition

NOYB, led by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems, filed the complaint with Spain's data protection agency on behalf of a complainant who booked a Ryanair flight through the Spanish-based online travel agency eDreams.

Ryanair, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, says on its website that in order to comply with safety and security requirements it must verify the identity of passengers' booking with travel agents because agents often do not provide Ryanair with customers' contact and payment details.

Passengers can avoid verifying through facial recognition by showing up at the airport at least 2 hours before departure or submitting a form and picture of their passport or national ID card in advance, a process Ryanair said can take seven days to complete. A similar process is not required when booking through Ryanair's website or mobile phone app.

NOYB has successfully launched privacy challenges against some of the world's largest multinational companies across the European Union under the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced in 2018.