LAST UPDATE | 2 Sep

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.

Israelis go on strike
1. A nationwide strike aimed at ramping up pressure on Israel’s government to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza has got underway this morning.

The call by Israel’s largest union to paralyse the economy follows a night of massive demonstrations, with tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in an outpouring of grief and fury over six hostages killed in the Gaza Strip.

Nursing homes
2. Readers tell us their experiences of Irish nursing homes in the latest edition of our Your Stories series.

We asked you for your experiences with the sector and we received many responses from family members of residents sharing both gratitude for the care and kindness received, but also heartbreak at poor treatment.

We also heard from people working in the sector about the financial pressures it faces.

German election
3. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a state election for the first time in the country’s east, and was set to finish at least a very close second to mainstream conservatives in a second vote, projections showed.

A new party founded by a prominent leftist also made an immediate impact, while the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular national government obtained extremely weak results.

Oasis tickets fiasco
4. Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said he expects the consumer protection watchdog to investigate the pricing of Oasis tickets after many fans complained following their going on sale yesterday.

Speaking yesterday in Cork, Martin described as “quite shocking” the escalating prices which Oasis fans experienced whilst buying tickets for next summer’s Croke Park gigs.

Road safety
5. Gardai have begun a 24-hour national speed limit enforcement operation today in an effort to encourage drivers to slow down and remember the dangers of speeding.

AIB shares
6. The state has gained €500 million through the sale of shares back to AIB, with Finance Minister Jack Chambers calling the purchase ‘a further positive step’ on the way towards bring the bank back to full private ownership.

The transaction sees AIB acquire €500m of its shares from the State by way of an off-market purchase at a final price of €5.445 per share, the Department of Finance said in a statement.

Latest Donegal crash
7. A motorcyclist has been seriously injured following yet another crash in Co Donegal.

The latest incident involved three vehicles including two cars and a motorbike on the N56 at Inver yesterday morning.

It follows a tragic week on Donegal’s roads which saw four people die in three different incidents.

Match overshadowed
8. An allegedly racist comment from the stands overshadowed St Patrick’s Athletic’s impressive thrashing of Drogheda United in the League of Ireland.

Olympics return to Skibbereen
9. Gold medal wins in the rivers of Paris at the Olympics translated in to homecoming celebrations on the banks of Skibbereen this afternoon as rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy finally got around to being feted in their native Cork.

The reception for the back-to-back Olympic gold medallists in the lightweight double sculls had to be delayed because of the World Rowing championships in Canada.