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

IRELAND

Ambassadors Jess Redden, Linda Redden, Karl Henry and Orla Walsh highlighting the 'Unbreakable' campaign to celebrate women aged over 65 ahead of World Osteoporosis Day on 20 October. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald made statements in the Dáil about a number of controversies surrounding the party.
• McDonald said the the circumstances around Brian Stanley’s resignation from the party are “very, very serious”.
• Former Sinn Féin senator Niall Ó Donnghaile revealed that he is the party member who resigned after allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to a 17-year-old. 
• Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said a plan on how to progress the Occupied Territories Bill could go before Cabinet as early as next week.
• Justin Kelly, a senior garda who leads organised crime investigations, was appointed the new Deputy Commissioner in An Garda Síochána.
• A court heard that former Irish rugby international Brendan Mullin allegedly stole over €500,000 from Bank of Ireland Private Bank when he was its managing director over ten years ago.
• The Government approved legislation that will ban the wearing of balaclavas at protests.
• The new Dublin city centre taskforce recommended that the GPO be redeveloped “as a major public building”.
• A man was arrested over false claims that were circulated on social media.
• The Residential Tenancies Board is to pursue over 1,500 landlords who receive HAP from their tenants but who are not registered with the regulator.

INTERNATIONAL

A teddy bear lies on the rubble of a destroyed building at the site of Monday's Israeli airstrike in Aito village in north Lebanon. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#ISRAEL: The US warned ally Israel that it may withhold some assistance if improvements aren’t made in aid delivery to Palestinians in Gaza.

#FORTRESS EUROPE: Asylum seekers are to be transported from Italy to Albania today under a bilateral agreement between the two countries. 

#GAFFER: Thomas Tuchel is set to be named England’s new manager after agreeing a deal with the Football Association, according to The Times.

#CZECH-ING OUT: Prague is looking to ban night-time pub crawls organised by travel agencies so that the city can target “more cultured” tourists.

PARTING SHOT

Paul Mescal is the November cover star for GQ magazine.

Presenting our November cover star: Paul Mescal.

The shorts get shorter. The roles get bolder. The fans grow ever more ravenous. Now, Paul Mescal is trading his indie tears for blockbuster blood as the centerpiece of Ridley Scott’s #GladiatorII

🔗: https://t.co/eBd8iNHCCH pic.twitter.com/k8IvfwSpMk

— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) October 15, 2024

The Oscar-nominated Irish actor is set to star in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, which is due for release in November. 

The original film about a Roman general, called Maximus Decimus Meridius, who ends up in slavery after the murder of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, became a global hit and raised the profile of Russell Crowe.

Mescal will star in the sequel alongside Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.

In this latest interview, he speaks about the role, his growing fame, and those GAA shorts. You can read it here.