LAST UPDATE | 22 Jul 2021
GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know about as you start your day.
1. In our main story this morning, Gráinne Ní Aodha reports some retail workers have claimed that they are being docked pay or have to stay back late to ‘pay back’ the time taken to get their Covid-19 vaccine during a work shift.
This is despite messages from the Government and from NPHET asking employers to facilitate workers attending their Covid-19 vaccine appointment.
2. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has confirmed that indoor hospitality in pubs and restaurants will resume for fully vaccinated and Covid-recovered people on Monday 26 July.
President Michael D Higgins yesterday signed the Health Amendment No 2 Bill, paving the way for the reopening. The bill was passed in both the Dáil and the Seanad before being signed into law by the president.
The final guidelines for indoor dining were agreed between government officials, publicans and restaurateurs on Tuesday.
3. It’s going to be another scorcher of a day today.
Met Éireann says today will be hot, dry and mostly sunny. Highest temperatures will range between 26 and 29 degrees, reaching 30 degrees locally.
A Status Orange high temperature warning is in place for Cavan, Monaghan, south Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford and Westmeath. A Status Yellow high temperature warning is in place for the rest of the country.
4. A woman has died in a drowning incident in Co Cavan.
Gardaí attended a lake in Gowna shortly before 9.30pm yesterday following reports of a drowning incident.
The body of a woman, aged in her late 20s, was recovered near the shoreline by Cavan Fire Service and Civil Defence a short time later.
5. Internationally, Australia’s Prime Minister has apologised for the country’s glacial vaccine rollout, as Sydney recorded a record jump in new coronavirus infections.
Scott Morrison is under fierce public pressure to improve a vaccination rate currently languishing around 11%, among the lowest rate of any rich nation.
After months of boasting about his “gold standard” pandemic response and insisting vaccine rollout was “not a race”, Morrison bowed to critics.
6. In Japan, the show director for the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has been fired on the eve of the event over a decades-old skit referencing the Holocaust.
Kentaro Kobayashi’s comments in a video of a comedy sketch from 1998 emerged online overnight and sparked shock from some in Japan.
7. A Northern California wildfire has prompted evacuations after crossing into Nevada as crews continue to battle a mammoth blaze in southern Oregon.
The Tamarack Fire south of Lake Tahoe had burned more than 176 square kilometres of timber and head-high chaparral in national forest land today.
It erupted on 4 July and was one of nearly two dozen blazes sparked by lightning strikes.
8. Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault in Los Angeles.
The disgraced Hollywood mogul (69) was brought into court yesterday after losing his bid to block extradition from New York.
Weinstein was charged with 11 counts of sexual assault in California relating to five women.
9. And back in Ireland, gardaí are seeking help from the public in locating a 16-year-old missing from his home in Kerry.
Taylor Lee has been missing from Kenmare since Friday 9 July.
He is described as being five feet seven inches in height, with a slight build, blue eyes and short brown hair which is currently dyed blonde.
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