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

IRELAND

Ex-footballer Ashley Cain (centre) with his cousin Tamika Cain (left) and Rehan Khalid in Dublin as he begins a charity run in memory of his late daughter Azaylia, and to raise funds in aid of childhood cancer. PA PA

• The Taoiseach said it’s time to move on from the controversy surrounding Sabina Higgins’ letter about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
• The latest exchequer returns show that the public finances recorded a surplus of €5 billion at the end of July.
• Domestic abuser Paul Moody was still active on dating apps days before his sentencing.
• A Dublin man signed a guilty plea to a charge of killing his sister Sandra Boyd.
• A Mountjoy prisoner who was hospitalised with serious injuries last week has died. 
• Nine weather stations across Ireland recorded their hottest temperatures ever on the same day last month.
• Shane Lowry was reunited with his golf clubs after they went missing on a flight from Dublin Airport to Chicago.

INTERNATIONAL

A cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain sails under Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge at the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul today. Emrah Gurel Emrah Gurel

#FOOD SUPPLIES: The first shipment of grain from Ukraine since the Russia’s invasion five months ago has sailed through Istanbul under a landmark deal designed to help alleviate a global food crisis sparked by the war.

#NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands declared an official water shortage, as the low-lying “land of water” was hit by Europe’s sweltering summer.

#TAIWAN: Taipei said that 27 Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defence zone as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her controversial visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers its territory.

#SANDY HOOK: Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones testified that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was “100% real”.

#LIFE SUPPORT: A last-ditch bid by the parents of a 12-year-old UK boy to postpone the withdrawal of his life support has been refused by the European Court of Human Rights.

PARTING SHOT

Extract: 'Nobody told me about the loneliness that comes with having a new baby' https://t.co/ia1nFuem8L

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) August 3, 2022

You can read an extract from Andrea Mara’s new book ‘Hide And Seek’ here.

The author has been shortlisted for a number of awards and also runs a multi-award-winning parent and lifestyle blog, OfficeMum.ie.