GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. The counter on Ireland’s Covid-19 caseload continues to tick upwards – but the virus’ public prominence has largely faded away.
For some, particularly people who are immunocompromised, the pandemic is still a significant worry, Lauren Boland writes in today’s lead story.
However, the overall trend has been a decline in behaviours aimed at avoiding infection like limiting contacts or travel.
Experts told The Journal that other crises “vying for our attention” such as the war in Ukraine, inflation, and climate change have occupied the forefront of many people’s minds, even as cases rose rapidly earlier in the summer.
2. The death toll from violence in Gaza has risen to 29, including six children, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said today.
The health ministry also said that over 250 people in Gaza had been wounded since the hostilities with Israel broke out on Friday.
The violence is the worst in Gaza since a war last year that devastated the impoverished territory home to some 2.3 million Palestinians and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.
3. The first shipment of Ukrainian grain since Russia’s invasion will no longer arrive in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli today as planned, Ukraine’s embassy in Beirut said.
“Tomorrow’s arrival of (the) Razoni ship is postponed,” the embassy told AFP in a message on Saturday.
Updates regarding an arrival ceremony “will be sent later when we get information about (the) exact day and time of the arrival of the ship”, it added.
4. Gardaí have seized approximately €300,000 worth of suspected cannabis and arrested two men, following a number of searches conducted in counties Tipperary and Carlow as part of Operation Tara on Saturday.
The arrested men, aged in their 40s and 30s, are currently being detained at Nenagh Garda Station under the provisions of section two of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.
The searches were carried out as a result of ongoing investigations by gardaí into the activities of an organised crime group by gardaí in the eastern region and in county Tipperary.
5. Tributes have been paid to Dillon Quirke following the sudden death of the Tipperary hurler on Friday.
The 24-year-old passed away after becoming ill while playing a game for his club Clonoulty-Rossmore in the Tipperary senior hurling championship at Semple Stadium before being taken to hospital.
President Michael D Higgins said the death is “an inestimable loss not only to his family and friends but to his entire community to which he was making such a contribution”.
6. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following a fatal traffic collision in north county Dublin on Saturday night.
At approximately 9.30pm yesterday, gardaí and emergency services were alerted to a collision involving a car and a motorcycle on the R126 Hearse Road at the junction with Cobbe’s Lane near Donabate.
The motorcyclist, a man in his early 20s, was treated by emergency services personnel but was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. He was removed to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown where a post-mortem will be arranged.
7. The past six years of the disastrous Brexit process have taken a very heavy toll on relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom, both North-South and East-West, Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond writes in The Journal today.
“The past few weeks alone have brought these relations to a low not seen in decades; the intention of the British Government to break international law by overriding the Northern Ireland Protocol and going against the will of the people of Northern Ireland has brought deep disappointment across this island.
“As Boris Johnson’s tenure as Prime Minister will soon come to an end, both Ireland and the EU are faced with an opportunity to reset our relations with the UK.”
8. In his latest op-ed, our columnist Larry Donnelly argues that surprising abortion votes and the fact Republicans have an issue with Trump could sway things for Democrats in the US.
He writes: “[President Joe] Biden himself remains mired in the doldrums; aggregated polling data in early August on realclearpolitics.com shows that less than 40% of the electorate in the United States approves of the job he is doing. Questions abound with respect to the 79-year-old’s capacity to execute the duties of the office. There is widespread doubt that he will run again in 2024.
“But when it comes to generic surveys on who Americans intend to cast ballots for in political dogfights for seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, there has been a small, yet potentially quite significant, movement. In early summer, Republicans held a lead of approximately three percentage points. That advantage has dwindled to .3%.”
9. And finally, the weather.
Met Éireann says cloud and patchy light rain will affect Ulster for a time this morning, with mist or fog in parts too.
It will be sunnier elsewhere though and generally dry, outside of stray light showers. It is expected to brighten up across Ulster throughout the day with a mostly sunny end to the day nationwide. Highest temperatures will range from 18 to 22 degrees Celsius.
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