LAST UPDATE | 31 Jul
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1.The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been killed in an air strike in Iran.
It came hours after Israel struck a neighbourhood in southern Beirut, killing a senior commander of Hezbollah; this came on the back of a rocket attack that killed 12 children in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights.
Haniyeh lived in exile between Turkey and Qatar, having previously served as Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following an upset election victory by Hamas.
2.Daniel Wiffen made history with Gold for Ireland in the 800m freestyle final at the Olympics.
The 23-year-old Armagh native set a new Olympic record of 7:38.19 as he competed in the race at the Paris La Defense Arena last night.
It is Ireland’s second Olympic medal for swimming at these Games after Mona McSharry won Bronze in the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday, which was Ireland’s first swim medal in 28 years.
3. A team has been established within the Department of Justice to review laws in cases of domestic homicides, including a recommendation to stop people who kill their partners from having parental rights to their children.
In reviewing the laws, the Department has been consulting with families of victims, with initial meetings held last month and earlier this month, Jane Matthews reports.
4. Two men in their 40s were killed after a helicopter crash near Killucan in Co Westmeath yesterday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 3:30pm when the helicopter crashed into a farm building in the Joristown area, between Killucan and Raharney.
Gardaí said they were liaising with the family of one male, an Irish national, and may request the assistance of Interpol to establish contact with the next of kin of the second male who is understood to be from Eastern Europe.
5. The long-awaited all-island rail review will be published today, setting out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050.
Included are ambitious rail plans to link airports and half journey times with train speeds of 200 km/h.
It also aims to make journeys between Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Derry significantly faster than travelling by car.
6. A number of police were injured in violence involving protesters outside a mosque in Southport in the UK after three girls were killed in a knife attack.
Demonstrators chanted far-right slogans clashed with police in St Luke’s Road.
Assistant chief constable Alex Goss said there had been “much speculation and hypothesis” around the status of a 17-year-old male who was in police custody in rleation to the stabbings.
Goss said some were using this to “bring violence and disorder to our streets”, adding that the teenager arrested was “born in the UK” and further claims made by far-right groups.
7. Fuel prices are set to increase from midnight tonight, the second price hike in the last three months, due to increases in excise fuel duty.
The price of petrol is to increase by 4c per litre, and diesel will increase by 3c per litre.
A number of opposition TDs had called for the government to prevent the fuel hike in recent months.
8. Children’s charity Barnados has called for all schools to introduce affordable uniform options.
Barnardos has today released its 2024 Back to School survey, which revealed that on average, primary school parents spent €119 on uniforms this year while secondary school parents spent €211.
In addition to this, 81% of parents said their children’s school did not offer an affordable uniform option and 76% said their school could do more to reduce the cost of their child’s uniform.
9. Triathlon events at the Paris Olympics will finally get going after River Seine pollution has dropped to safe levels.
Heavy downpours during the opening ceremony last Friday overwhelmed Paris’s underground drains and sewage system, some of which dates back to the 19th century, leading to untreated effluent being released into the waterway.
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