GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country will host the Eurovision next year after folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra romped home as winners of the contest in Turin.
The group, who as men of fighting age had to be given special dispensation to leave the country, had long been considered favourites to claim the top prize.
Their song Stefania – a plaintive mix of hip-hop and traditional music – lagged behind the UK, Sweden and Spain after the jury votes were awarded. However as the televotes from across Europe (and Australia) were read out it soon became apparent that the Ukrainians would emerge victorious.
In his statement congratulating the band, Zelenskyy said his country would host the contest – adding: ”We will do our best to one day host the participants and guests of Eurovision in Ukrainian Mariupol. Free, peaceful, rebuilt!”
2. Ukraine’s forces are fighting off a fierce Russian onslaught on the east of the country today.
President Volodymr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday that the war in his country risked triggering global food shortages, adding that the situation in Ukraine’s Donbas is “very difficult”.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on 24 February, has increasingly turned its attention to the country’s east since the end of March, after failing to take the capital Kyiv.
Western analysts believe President Vladimir Putin has his sights on annexing southern and eastern Ukraine in the months ahead but his troops have appeared to be encountering stiff resistance.
3. A mass shooting in which at least 10 people were killed at a supermarket in the US has been described as “racially-motivated violent extremism” by authorities.
Police said a white 18-year-old man in military gear used a helmet camera to livestream the attack in Buffalo, New York state, on mostly black shoppers and workers on Saturday.
For at least two minutes, he broadcast the shooting live on the streaming platform Twitch before the service ended his transmission.
Police said he shot 11 black victims and two who were white before surrendering to police. Later, he appeared before a judge in a paper medical gown and was arraigned on murder charges.
4. Almost two-thirds of people – 65% – say that Ireland’s healthcare system is getting worse, a new poll has found.
Just 7% of respondents said that healthcare services are getting better. When asked about the current state of the provision of health services in Ireland compared to five years ago, people without insurance, women, and people on lower incomes were most likely to say that the services are worsening.
The poll, conducted by Ireland Thinks/The Good Information Project, found that 27% of people said that the healthcare services are about the same as they were five years ago, Jack White writes in today’s lead story.
5. Boris Johnson will urge Northern Ireland’s politicians to get power-sharing back up and running as the Government seeks to resolve the deadlock with Brussels over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The British Prime Minister will travel to Belfast on Monday for crisis talks after the DUP blocked the election of a Speaker at the Stormont Assembly, preventing it from sitting.
Government sources said Johnson will use a series of private meetings to deliver a “tough message” that any “fix” to the protocol must involve the parties coming together to form an Executive and Assembly.
6. Nearly 80 English language students have come forward to gardaí to allege they were scammed by a travel agency in what is now expected to be a million euro fraud investigation, The Journal has learned.
The travel agency, which had been operating in Ireland for a number of years, acted as an intermediary for prospective English language students travelling to Ireland and offered a range of services including securing visas, registering students for classes and finding accommodation for them.
However, the directors of the company have left Ireland with money belonging to a significant number of students.
7. Thousands of activists took to the streets across the United States yesterday in a national day of action calling for safe and legal access to abortion.
The demonstrations are a response to leaked draft opinion showing the United States Supreme Court’s conservative majority is considering overturning Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 ruling guaranteeing abortion access nationwide.
“I just think that nobody has the right to make a decision on somebody else’s body,” said Hanna Williamson (20) from the city of Suffolk, Virginia, who drove three hours to join several thousand protesters in Washington. “I think it should be left up to every individual. I am fighting for everyone else’s rights in this.”
8. The spike in the cost of living is hurting people in every community right across Ireland, Labour leader Ivana Bacik writes in The Journal today.
“Inflation has surged to a 22-year high and looks set to continue its spiral. The rising costs of fuel, housing, and basic services are now out of control.
“The price of essential foods like bread, milk and butter has risen sharply. Hard-working adult children are being forced to live at home rather than move out, parents are already wondering how they will afford new uniforms in September, and the idea of a modest family holiday or city break is a pipedream for most people.”
9. And finally, the weather.
Any mist and fog will clear this morning, leaving a mostly dry day with sunny spells, according to Met Éireann. There will be scattered showers though, mainly over the eastern half of the country.
It will become cloudier in the south and east throughout the day with the best of the sunny spells in the west. Highest temperatures will reach 16 to 20 degrees Celsius.
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