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

IRELAND

Head gardener, Damien McGovern, at Powerscourt Hotel in Wicklow before guests arrive tomorrow when hotels reopen. Leon Farrell Leon Farrell

• The government announced a number of financial projects to stimulate the Irish economy post-pandemic and support businesses and workers as Covid-19 supports are gradually phased out. 
• A further 337 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland.
• People who own homes built since 2013 will no longer be exempt from property tax.
• The government wants to introduce reforms in October’s Budget whereby unemployed people receive social welfare payments linked to their previous PRSI contributions. 
• A new Garda Anti-Corruption Unit received complaints of allegations of drug use among Garda members. 
• Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said local councils need to “get the message” thatan “outdoor summer” is what is required and that funding is available from government to provide waste services. 
• There were a number of public order and assault incidents involving groups of teenagers in Howth Village and at Kilbarrack Dart Station yesterday.
• The Irish Navy detained a Spanish fishing vessel off the coast of Cork over alleged breaches of fishing regulations.
• New plans were announced for a metropolitan rail network for Cork.
• The Journal examined how deep Ireland’s trade investment relationship is with China. 

WORLD

People swiming in a transparent swimming pool bridge across two residential blocks in south London today. PA PA

#NEW NAMES: Covid-19 variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatising nations where they were first detected.

#NO DEATHS: The UK reported no further deaths linked to Covid-19 for the first day since summer last year.

PARTING SHOT

File image of Naomi Osaka. Dubreuil Corinne / ABACA Dubreuil Corinne / ABACA / ABACA

Naomi Osaka announced yesterday that she would withdraw from the French Open because of the furore caused by her boycott of media duties. 

Psychology professor Peter Terry writes in The Journal today that there are “two sides to this story”. 

He writes:

On the one hand, this is part of the contract, it’s part of the deal. Tennis players get paid millions of dollars and in return they have to do media interviews whether they win or lose.

The issue is when you have somebody like Osaka, who is by her own admission an introverted person with high social anxiety. She essentially hates doing this stuff but knows she has to.

If there was ever a public cry for help, this is it. She’s talked about suffering bouts of depression since she won the US Open in 2018, how she wears headphones to try to cope with her social anxiety to stay in her own little bubble.

She knew that if she lost at the French Open again, there would be a forensic examination of her inability to win on clay that would just reinforce her own self-doubt. So, she decided not put herself through that.