NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal brings you all of today’s top stories.

IRELAND

The Dragon of the Lung Ying Academy of the Shaolin Buddhist Temple Slane during the Dublin Lunar New Year Festival on Drury Street Dublin. DublinTown, Dublin City Council. Andres Poveda Andres Poveda

• Education Minister Norma Foley paid tribute to six-year-old Matthew Healy, whose body was discovered in Waterford early on Friday morning.
• Ireland continued their quest to complete a Six Nations Grand Slam defence with a commanding 36-0 win over Italy at the Aviva Stadium.
• A man was hospitalised following an assault in Dublin City Centre in the early hours of this morning.
• Justice Minister Helen McEntee said new measures to speed up the processing of applications of people seeking International Protection in Ireland have been designed to crack down on those misusing the system.
• Two Irish eight-year-olds finished in 6th and 7th place in their respective races competing for the title of “fastest kid in the world” at the Millrose Games in New York City today.
• Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said that more women needed to enter politics in order to combat female politicians being subjected to targeted harassment.
• Social Democrats leader Gary Gannon shared that he has recently been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and opened up about his struggles with his mental health.
• It was revealed that over 2,800 applications to Tusla’s tracing service are still waiting to be allocated to a social worker.
• The Central Bank said it will take another seven years for it to vacate the old ‘Mint’ site in Sandyford which has been earmarked for up to 750 homes.

 WORLD

Palestinians mourn after identifying the bodies of relatives killed by Israeli strikes in Rafah. 9 February 2024 Ismael Mohamad / UPI/Alamy Ismael Mohamad / UPI/Alamy / UPI/Alamy

#TRUMP: Former US president Donald Trump said at a campaign rally that he would “encourage” Russia to attack members of Nato who had not met their financial obligations.

#UKRAINE: Russia launched 45 drone attacks on Ukraine last night, according to Ukrainian authorities.

 PARTING SHOT

Galway eight-year-old Charlie Sweeny came in 7th place in the “fastest kid in the world” race at the Millrose Games in New York City today. Here he is preparing for the race.