Explained By Prime Time

Yemeni rebels, oil prices, the U.S., Iran, Saudi Arabia, widespread hunger... It may seem disconnected and confusing - Mark Coughlan and Dimitri O'Donnell talk you through how they're all linked, and outline why two of the world's major powers now say they're prepared to go to war.

How come many Irish students are paying €3000 a year to attend university or college, when we're supposed to have free third level education? Maria Flannery and Cillian Sherlock walk you through what led to the introduction of 'free fees'; where that €3000 figure comes from; and what's happened in the third level sector which has left many institutions reliant on that money to keep the lecture rooms open.

Want to understand the basic background to Budget 2020? Robert Shortt and David McCullagh have dusted off the archive footage of budget days gone past, to help you understand what you need to know this week.

A fire in The Stardust nightclub in 1981 claimed the lives of 48 people and seriously injured more than 200 more. To this day, relatives and survivors are still waiting for answers about what happened. But in recent weeks, a decision by the Attorney General has offered new hope. Rita O'Reilly and Della Kilroy explain what happened in The Stardust that night, and in the intervening decades - and why the worst fire tragedy in the history of the State is still making news, almost four decades on.

Does it feel like your train is constantly packed? You're not alone. Surely, there's a simple solution? More trains on the schedule, more carriages on the trains. Louise Byrne and Kieran Dineen explain what's happening with the capacity of the rail network, to give you an idea of when your more comfortable commute might finally be coming down the tracks.

We've signed up to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 40% over the next ten years. At the same time, the number of cows in the country is growing annually. As part of RTÉ's Climate week, Fran McNulty and Aisling Moloney explain the difficult decision policy makers have to make - it seems we can hit our targets, or we can continue to allow the national herd to increase, but we can't do both.

Adam Maguire and Mark Coughlan explain why the U.S. is concerned about Huawei, China's response, and why countries like Ireland are left weighing up fears about spies, with the development of key broadband infrastructure and mobile phone networks.

An incredible 50,000 submissions were made in response to the publication of first draft the long-awaiting Dublin Bus network redesign. BusConnects, as the new plan is known, has attracted outrage from passengers, residents along routes, and people concerned with tree cutting. A second draft was released in October. Kieran Dineen and Conor Wilson take you through what's happened, what's changed, and explain when you can expect to see the result of the biggest network revamp in the history of Dublin's bus system.