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

IRELAND

A pedestrian walks past a homeless person's tent on a Dublin street. Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• Dublin City Councillor Anthony Flynn was found dead today. The body of the 35-year-old, who was the co-founder and director of Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH), was discovered this afternoon.
• Ryanair has said it will not accept boarding passes issued by the booking website Kiwi.com. In a statement, Ryanair said that from today (18 August) any passenger with a boarding pass issued by Kiwi “will regrettably be refused boarding as they have not complied with Ryanair’s safety and security protocols during check-in”.
• Public health officials have confirmed 1,861 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. As of midnight, 249 patients are in hospital with Covid-19, including 54 in ICU, according to the Department of Health. 
• A man in his 20s has died following a workplace accident in north Dublin today. The man (23) was working at a waste treatment facility on the Cappagh Road in Finglas when the accident occurred.
• A man in his early 30s has been arrested after two garda vehicles were set alight at Dundalk Garda Station in the early hours of this morning.
• A warrant has been issued in the UK for the arrest of UCD professor Dolores Cahill, a London court has confirmed.
• The Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) has expressed concern about the implications of continued maternity restrictions on parents and the wider family during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

THE WORLD 

British nationals board a RAF aircraft at Kabul airport. LPhot Ben Shread / MoD/PA LPhot Ben Shread / MoD/PA / MoD/PA

#AFGHANISTAN The Taliban violently broke up a protest in eastern Afghanistan today, killing at at least three people as they quashed a rare public show of dissent.

#UK The world of comedy is leading the tributes to “one of the very best” following the death of Sean Lock aged 58.

#NEW ZEALAND New Zealanders must brace for additional Covid-19 cases from an outbreak that has plunged the previously virus-free country into a snap lockdown, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned today after nine more positive tests.

PARTING SHOT 

This could be the next Love/Hate as RTÉ have announced a new gangland crime drama for their Autumn season.

It has been billed as a gritty original drama but some of the details sound vaguely similar to some recent events in real life.

The series focuses on the family of a boy who is killed – they embark on a gangland war with an international cartel. The Kinsella family, out-numbered, out-financed and out-gunned find themselves holed up in their Dublin stronghold while their businesses fail, and family members and associates are picked off.

There’s an impressive cast that includes Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne, Aidan Gillen, Ciaran Hinds, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Sam Keeley, Emmet J Scanlan and Yasmin Seky.

"I have to repay loyalty with loyalty".

Brand new drama Kin coming soon to @RTEOne …#RTENewSeason #RTEKinpic.twitter.com/s5JfLQ0nCy

— RTÉ (@rte) August 18, 2021