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

IRELAND

Rebecca Adamson and her daughter Sophie from Dublin 8 at the launch of mychild.ie. Mark Stedman Mark Stedman

• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologised for comments he made to Micheál Martin in the Dáil yesterday likening him to a priest sinning “behind the altar”.
• Defence Forces members are to see an immediate pay rise following the Cabinet’s approval of an increased €10 million remuneration package this afternoon.
• A man was found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing his poker opponent with a boning knife taken from a Cavan meat factory
• Gardaí have confirmed that a skull and bones discovered at a recycling facility in Co Wicklow yesterday are medical specimens used for teaching.
• Penalty points for fishermen could be rolled out to encourage ‘good behaviour’ and avoid fines. 
• The rape trial of a Dublin man has collapsed after the complainant left on a ferry to England halfway through her cross-examination.
• A judge will decide on Monday whether the editor of the Irish Daily Mail is responsible for a front page story during the Ana Kriegel murder trial.
• The new mortuary at University Hospital Waterford would have cost at least €1 million less had it been given the go-ahead as recommended two years ago.
• A therapy pony that was stolen from a property in Tipperary last week has been found by gardaí.  

WORLD

A tank is put into position ahead of 4 July celebrations in Washington DC. PA Images PA Images

#FOURTH OF JULY:  As the US celebrates its Independence Day, there is controversy over the plans for festivities in Washington DC.

#GIBRALTAR: A supertanker suspected of carrying crude oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions was detained in Gibraltar, aided by a detachment of British Royal Marines.

#LIBYA: The divided UN Security Council has failed to condemn an attack on a detention centre for migrants in Libya after the US didn’t endorse a proposed statement.

#EU PARLIAMENT: Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe has come under fire for likening the UK leaving the European Union to “slaves” rising up “against their owners”. 

PARTING SHOT

Despite recent discharges of untreated wastewater into Dublin Bay, some hardy swimmers aren’t being put off.