LAST UPDATE | 17 Jun

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news to know as you start your day.

1. Gaza

The Israeli military announced a “tactical pause” in its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip during daylight hours to allow the deliveries of increased quantities of humanitarian aid.

2. News readership

The Journal remains one of the Ireland’s most popular sources of digital news, a new report shows. According to the latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 15% of respondents access The Journal three times or more in a week, making it Ireland’s second most frequently used digital brand, ahead of Independent.ie (at 14%).

3. Journalist held in Russia

The trial in Russia of US journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges will start on 26 June, a court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg said today. The trial “will take place behind closed doors. The first hearing is set for 26 June, 2024″, the Sverdlovsk regional court, which is overseeing the process, said in a statement.

4. Nuclear weapons

Nuclear-armed countries hiked spending on atomic weapons arsenals by a third in the past five years as they modernised their stockpiles amid growing geopolitical tensions, two new reports have found.

5. Intimidation of libraries

President Michael D Higgins has said that protecting libraries and their staff from “intimidation from protests by far-right groups” is “not just a matter for the Gardaí, but for all” of society.

6. Circular economy

The government has launched a new framework to allow public bodies to buy remanufactured laptops in what’s been described as the “first arrangement of its kind in the EU”. It was previously advised that public bodies should always buy new products – however, all public service bodies will now be able to buy a remanufactured alternative.

7. Aer Lingus industrial action

Aer Lingus pilots are set to conclude casting paper ballots today on whether to take industrial action over a pay dispute.

8. Learning English

In north Dublin, a community group of volunteers are helping asylum seekers to learn English. 

9. Drugs investigation

Gardai charged 14 people yesterday in connection with an investigation into the into the sale and supply of drugs in Dublin. The 12 men and two women, who range in age between their late teens and their 50s, are due to appear before Dublin District Courts in the coming days.