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

IRELAND

Birds feeding in Dublin Bay this afternoon. Sam Boal Sam Boal

• Health officials confirmed a further 1,496 new cases of Covid-19 here. 
• Spanish police released an image of the operation that resulted in the arrest of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch in the Costa del Sol last week.
• Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the National Immunisation Advisory Committee has advised that vaccines can be mixed in certain circumstances. 
• Homeless charities criticised Dublin City Council’s chief executive Owen Keegan who suggested that “well-intended” homeless volunteers are sustaining people sleeping in tents on the streets.
• A man in his 20s was arrested over a car crash on the Navan Road in Dublin yesterday.
• A 16-year-old boy was charged with rape and sexual assault of a female in Dublin two years ago.
• The Government announced €1 million in humanitarian funding to support the people of Afghanistan.

WORLD 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, left, speaks at his first news conference, in Kabul. Rahmat Gul Rahmat Gul

#AFGHANISTAN: A Taliban spokesman gave a qualified promise that the insurgents who overran Afghanistan in recent days would respect women’s rights.

#FRANCE: Hundreds of firefighters have battled to contain a raging wildfire near the glitzy Mediterranean resort of Saint-Tropez today, with thousands of residents and holidaymakers forced to evacuate.

PARTING SHOT 

A handler at a reptile zoo in the US had a lucky escape after an alligator attacked her. Luckily, there was somebody around to help. 

A guest at a reptile centre jumped into the enclosure to rescue a handler pulled in by an alligator.

The staff member was taken to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, according to local media reports.

For more videos visit: https://t.co/rJUe1YBS7E pic.twitter.com/ybeISwER3s

— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 17, 2021

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