EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, The Journal brings you the five biggest stories of the day.

1. #COURTS: A 47-YEAR-OLD man, Alexandru Iordache, has been jailed for life for the murder of an elderly Limerick woman, whom he targeted in the supermarket, followed and later strangled in her home. The father-of-two had ‘shoulder surfed’ 78-year-old Rose ‘Rosie’ Hanrahan, while the widow paid for groceries in December 2017, the day after he had arrived in Ireland.

2. #VACCINES: It’s good news on the vaccine front as half of Ireland’s adult population will have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of today, the Health Minister has said. More than 4.3 million coronavirus jabs have been administered to date, with 49.6% of adults fully vaccinated. Some 67% of adults have received their first dose.

3. #BLAZING HELL: Footage of a massive fire raging in the Gulf of Mexico was widely shared on social media over the weekend. The inferno raged for several hours on Friday and was dubbed an “eye of fire” due to its circular shape. The scale of the fire and biblical-like scene it created resulted in many memes and comparisons to Mordor in The Lord of the Rings.

4. #DATA: Buncrana in Donegal and Dungarvan in Waterford have the country’s highest incidence of Covid-19 as health officials closely monitor Ireland’s disease trajectory. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) last week warned that a fourth wave of infection is coming as the more infectious Delta variant becomes the dominant strain in Ireland. 

5. #HOSPITALITY: Talks have got underway between government representatives and the hospitality industry over indoor dining.  Indoor dining and drinking had been set to recommence in pubs and restaurants today. However, Taoiseach Micheál Martin last week confirmed this would be delayed due to concerned over the Delta variant. 

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