LAST UPDATE | 29 Feb

GOOD MORNING.

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

Psychosis series

1. As part of the Falling Through the Cracks series, News Correspondent Órla Ryan is exploring access to services for people with psychosis and/or schizophrenia.

You can read today’s article here. 

Gaza death toll

2. More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, the region’s health ministry has said. 

The latest overall toll for Palestinians killed in the conflict came after at least 79 people died overnight across the Gaza Strip, the health ministry said.

While mediators say a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away, aid agencies have raised serious concerns of a looming famine in Gaza’s north.

Young boy killed

3. Tributes have been paid after a 10-year-old boy died yesterday from injuries sustained from being struck by a van in Co Clare last weekend.

He has been named locally as Dylan Coady Coleman. 

The young boy passed away yesterday morning at Children’s Health Ireland in Temple Street.

The incident happened shortly after 2pm on Sunday in Purcell Park, Shannon, and involved a van and the 10-year-old pedestrian.

Covid anniversary

4. Today marks first leap day since 2020, and so The Journal has spoken to four experts in the area of Covid – familiar voices from the past few years – to get their take on the past four years in respect of the virus, and to look ahead at the next four.

Claims of cyber breach

5. The Department of Foreign Affairs has said there is “no evidence” that it has been the victim of a cybersecurity breach, despite claims made by an online ransomware group. 

Mogilevich has claimed it has 7gb of compromised data from the Department and is prepared to sell it. 

“At this point, there is no evidence of any breach of DFA ICT security infrastructure,” a Department spokesperson said. 

Trump at Supreme Court

6. The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether former president Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he interfered with the 2020 election, and set a course for a quick resolution.

The US justices’ order maintains a hold on preparations for a trial focused on Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss.

The court will hear arguments in the case in late April, with a decision likely no later than the end of June.

Biden’s health

7. Joe Biden’s doctor has said the US President is “fit for duty” and “no new concerns” have been identified after his annual medical examination. 

Richard Lewis death

8. Richard Lewis, the US stand-up comedian and Larry David’s co-star in Curb Your Enthusiasm, has died aged 76. 

Lewis, who said he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023, died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack, said his publicist Jeff Abraham.

Medical student places

9. The Irish Government is to fund 50 medical places for students at Queen’s University Belfast over the next two academic years. 

A total of 25 places will be made available for qualifying students from Ireland or Northern Ireland in Queen’s from September 2024. A further 25 places will be made available in September 2025. 

These places will be co-funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education and the Department of Health.