NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Walsh Mushrooms in Golden, Co Tipperary remains closed after 29 staff members tested positive for Covid-19. Eamonn Farrell / Rollingnews.ie Eamonn Farrell / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

• Health officials confirmed that a further 56 cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Ireland, with no deaths reported.
• The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been stopped for almost 28,000 people after they did not confirm that they were still eligible to receive it.
•  A mushroom factory in Tipperary is concerned at the level of asymptomatic cases identified during testing over the weekend, following its closure last week due to a number of positive tests.
• Students in Northern Ireland will receive their highest predicted grade, while the UK government is forced to make a dramatic u-turn in the issue of controversial A-level grades.
• Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said there are no plans to further extend the restrictions on movement in Kildare, Laois and Offaly.
• Prisoners will be allowed to receive one family visit every two weeks for the first time in months as restrictions ease, except in Portlaoise and the Midlands.
• Berlin D2 restaurateur Jay Bourke said Saturday’s brunch event was “well controlled” and videos on social media showed “20 seconds of madness”.
• Ryanair has decided to reduce its flights by 20% in September and October, impacting the frequency of flights from countries such as Spain, France, and Sweden.
• A Status Yellow rainfall warning is in effect for Munster, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Wexford, Wicklow, Offaly and Galway until 7am tomorrow.

WORLD

Protest in Minsk, Belarus on 16 August. Shutterstock / Stas Vulkanov Shutterstock / Stas Vulkanov / Stas Vulkanov

#BELARUS: President Alexander Lukashenko said he will “never cave in to pressure” as calls for him to step down after 26 years in office continue to escalate.

#CLIMATE: The hottest temperature on record may have hit Death Valley in California yesterday, with the World Meterological Organization working to verify a temperature of 54.4 degrees Celsius.

#CLOSED DOWN: Italy has ordered all dance venues to close for three weeks ahead of the “Ferragosto” holiday weekend.

#POSTAL VOTE: Nancy Pelosi has called the House of Representatives back into session to vote on a bill that would prohibit changes to the US Postal Service’s operations ahead of mail-in voting in November’s presidential election.

#CRUISE: The first Mediterranean cruise since Italy’s lockdown has set sail for seven nights from the port of Genoa in northern Italy.

PARTING SHOT

Galway’s Niamh Fahey has been named the new captain of Liverpool in the lead up to the FA Women’s Championship season. 

Fahey, who has occasionally joined RTÉ football panels as a pundit, has played with Liverpool FC since July 2018.

She formerly played with FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Chelsea FC.

Fahey replaces outgoing captain Sophie Bradley-Auckland, who has been unable to return as she continues working with residents of a care home run by her family during Covid-19.