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

IRELAND

Bambie Thug Andres Poveda Andres Poveda

• A driver has been arrested after a teenage girl died in a single-vehicle crash in Wicklow. The girl, who was a passenger in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.
• The president of the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union pledged that demonstrators will “indefinitely” block access to the Book of Kells on the college campus until the university cuts its ties to Israel.
• People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy defended asking Sinn Féin to participate in a transfer-left pact for the local elections despite admitting that the party’s rhetoric has shifted “rightwards”.
• Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen shed some light on his battle for an MEP seat, saying he hopes the upcoming European election will be measured on “more than name recognition or celebrity status”.
• The Irish mixed and women’s 4x400m relay teams are going to the Olympics after sealing their Paris qualification with stunning runs at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas.
• In an analysis piece, Paul O’Donoghue looked at how customer inaction has put AIB on course to maintain its strong performance in 2023, when the bank made profits of over €2 billion.
• The future of an artists collective based in Dublin’s north inner city hangs in the balance, as Dublin City Council seeks to remove the group from the building in order to complete works.
• Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor has called for gardai to be deployed to checkpoints on the border to deal with a reported increase in migrants entering from Northern Ireland.

INTERNATIONAL

Boats sit idle off Copacabana beach as fans watch Madonna's concert. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#GAZA CONFLICT: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of broadcaster Al Jazeera.

#MADONNA CONCERT: An estimated crowd of over 1.5 million people turned out for a free Madonna concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

#BRAZIL FLOODS: Over 80,000 people have been forced from their homes and dozens killed in southern Brazil following severe flooding.

#UK ELECTIONS: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted that sticking to his plan will deliver for the Tories after his party suffered a series of devastating defeats in the UK local elections.

PARTING SHOT

With Eurovision meant to be a celebration of European unity and identity, it is hard to remember a year in which that ideal has felt further away.

The buildup to the competition has been heavily overshadowed by the debate over Israel’s inclusion. 

The European Broadcasting Union, which stages the contest, has been at pains to stress that the three-night extravaganza is a non-political musical event for public broadcasters and not a competition between governments. But calls for a boycott have only intensified in recent weeks.

Our reporter Daragh Brophy takes a look at what we can expect once things kick off in Malmö.