GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
A number of former pupils of Belvedere College in Dublin have alleged that a priest who taught at the fee-paying secondary school assaulted them in the late 1970s and 1980s, Órla Ryan writes in today’s lead story.
In correspondence sent to one former student this week, gardaí confirmed that a crime occurred but a Garda Superintendent, acting under protocols and delegated functions issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions, decided not to take the case further as the priest died in 2014, before any complaint was made to the gardaí.
A power-sharing crisis in Northern Ireland was averted after a late-night deal over Irish language laws paved the way for Stormont leaders to be appointed.
A post-midnight announcement by the UK Government committing to pass the stalled laws at Westminster in the autumn, if they are not moved at the Stormont Assembly in the interim, was enough to convince Sinn Féin to drop its threat not to nominate a deputy First Minister as joint head of the devolved executive.
The development came after a night of intensive talks involving Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and DUP and Sinn Féin delegations in Belfast.
A teenage girl died after being injured during an exercise event at an equestrian centre in Dublin yesterday.
The 15-year-old girl, who was injured during an exercise event, was taken to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin where she later passed away.
People who are less likely to follow news coverage about Covid-19 are more likely to be vaccine hesitant, according to a new study.
A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute’s Behavioural Research Unit found a link between a reluctance to take the vaccine and a lack of knowledge and awareness of its benefits.
Properties by the coast in Ireland are now 23% more expensive than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
This compares to a national average increase of just 8.7% in the same period, according to a new report by Daft.
Places like Lahinch in Clare and Kilmore Quay in Wexford have seen the average price of a three-bed house increase by 39% and 54% respectively in the year since the start of Covid-19 compared to the year proceeding Covid-19.
Almost one-third of the nation is feeling nervous about being able to meet up with people indoors as Covid-19 restrictions ease, a new poll shows.
Polling by Red C on behalf of The Journal shows that 32% of people are feeling nervous about meeting people indoors again – 40% of those living in rural areas are feeling nervous about the prospect, while just 28% of people in urban areas are feeling that way.
Five editors and executives at Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper were arrested today under the territory’s contentious national security law.
The paper’s stock was also halted on share markets and police were searching its offices in moves raising concerns about the media’s future in the city.
Apple Daily is known for its strong pro-democracy stance and often criticises and condemns the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for tightening control over the city.
China launched the first three astronauts on a mission to its new space station today in its first crewed venture in five years.
The mission brings to 14 the number of Chinese astronauts travelling into space since China launched its first crewed mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to do so on its own.
The mission is the third of 11 planned through next year to add the additional sections to the station and send up crews and supplies. A fresh three-member crew and a cargo ship with supplies will be sent in three months.
The European Commission says it is assessing whether Hungary’s new law banning the “promotion” of homosexuality to minors “breaches relevant EU legislation”.
The law, passed yesterday, is the latest in a series of measures right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government says are aimed at protecting children.
But critics say the changes – which effectively ban teaching about LGBTQI groups – would discriminate and restrict freedom of expression.
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