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

IRELAND
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

• Senior sources said that the government is planning to focus on reducing the rocketing cost of childcare in the Budget in October
• Green Party leader Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan admitted that a Dáil question answered in his name concerning a ban on the sale of turf should have included the word “draft”
• The leader of the SDLP Colum Eastwood urged tactical votes for his party to revive the Stormont Assembly
• Gardaí appealed for witnesses to a traffic collision near the junction of River Road and Dunsink Lane in Dublin on the afternoon of Wednesday 20 April
• Gardaí arrested a man in his late 30s following an armed robbery in Ballincollig, Co. Cork, yesterday evening

WORLD
Residents stand covered by blankets next to their houses damaged by Russian shelling in Odessa. Max Pshybyshevsky Max Pshybyshevsky
#UKRAINE: The UN and Ukraine itself called for a ceasefire to allow trapped civilians to escape, as the UN refugee agency said the number of Ukrainians fleeing the war is nearly at 5.2 million
#FRANCE:Incumbent Emmanuel Macron and populist candidate Marine Le Pen went head to head in a runoff for the presidency, with pundits predicting that turnout could decide France’s next leader
JAPAN:At least 10 people were confirmed dead after a sightseeing boat sank in frigid waters off Japan’s northeast, with the search continuing for 16 others still missing

PARTING SHOT

Britain’s first openly transgender MP has advised young people dealing with gender issues not to “wait as long as I’ve waited”.

Last month, Tory MP Jamie Wallis revealed he was raped and blackmailed, wants to transition to be a woman, and also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

But he told Sky News it was “truly frightening” to discover the “shocking” number of people who got in touch with him to talk about their similar experience.

He offered advice to young people struggling with their gender identity, saying there was “nothing wrong with just taking some time and discovering yourself”.