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

IRELAND 

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• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been criticised for using “very offensive language” after he compared Sinn Féin policies to ‘politics for slow learners’ in a recent interview. 
• Sinn Féin currently holds the largest number of councillors after 90% of seats have been filled in the Northern Ireland local elections.
• Patrick Kielty has been announced as the new Late Late Show presenter.
• Sipo has written to Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe this week to notify him that a complaint made against him regarding donations from businessman Michael Stone is now closed and that no further action will be taken.
• PSNI detectives in Derry are investigating the report of a serious assault on a man in the Fern Park area in the east of the city last night.
• Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) is preparing to prosecute a trainer after several dogs were seized by inspectors on welfare grounds.
• A judge in Cork has called for “more rigorous restrictions” on pornography after the court heard that a young defendant in a sexual assault case watched pornography from the age of 11.

INTERNATIONAL 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a recent trip to Germany. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#RUSSIA The International Criminal Court said today that it was “undeterred” after Russia put prosecutor Karim Khan on a wanted list over his issuance of an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin.

#THIS MORNING ITV presenter Phillip Schofield has announced this afternoon that he will step down as a host of the popular daytime show This Morning, after more than two decades in the role.

#G7 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Hiroshima today for talks with the G7 this morning, after winning long-sought access to advanced US fighter jets to bolster Ukraine’s defence.

#BBC A man has attacked a statue on the front of the BBC’s Broadcasting House in central London with a hammer and chisel.

#RACISM One of Australia’s top television journalists has opened a bout of national soul-searching by quitting his show over the racist abuse he faces as an Indigenous man in the spotlight. 

PARTING SHOT

Rihanna shooting a music video in a field in 2011, in Co Down. PA PA

A DUP farmer who famously asked megastar Rihanna to “cover up” when she was shooting a music video in his field in Northern Ireland has been elected as a local DUP councillor. 

Alan Graham reclaimed his seat in Ards and North Down, after losing out in 2019. 

Graham had words with Rihanna when she was shooting scenes for the ‘We found Love in a Hopeless Place’ video in his grain field back in 2011. 

The interaction seemed relatively friendly, however, as Graham explained at the time that he hoped she understood where he was coming from, and that they even shook hands after speaking.