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

IRELAND

Taoiseach Micheál Martin with musicians in Japan today Department of the Taoiseach Department of the Taoiseach

• 150 refugees have been moved into a tent camp in Gormanston amidst a lack of State-provided accommodation for those arriving into Ireland.
• It was another sweltering day today, with Met Éireann forecasting 28 degree heat alongside a series of thunderstorm warnings in ten counties.
• Flogas Energy announced that they would be increasing prices, pushing the price of the average electricity bill up by 8.1% and gas bills by 19.8% from 19 August.
• Kerry Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin has called for SUVs to be banned in Dublin Bay South in an apparent dig at the Environment Minister Eamon Ryan.
• AIB are set to go cashless in 70 of its branches starting in September, citing a waning demand for its services.
• Cleanup of a Dublin beach took six hours today after beachgoers left significant amounts of rubbish scattered on the sands yesterday.

INTERNATIONAL

Fires burning in London Yui Mok / PA Yui Mok / PA / PA

#HEATWAVE FIRES London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident due to a “huge surge” in blazes across the UK capital. The fire brigade said in a statement it is battling “several significant” incidents in the capital, as people have been urged not to have barbecues or bonfires due to the “unprecedented” challenges crews face.

#TEMPERATURE RECORD The UK has provisionally recorded its highest ever temperature, with the mercury reaching 40.3 degrees at Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

#TORY LEADERSHIP Liz Truss has seen a a surge in support as she battles it out against Penny Mordaunt to face Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership election run-off after Kemi Badenoch was eliminated.

#EU NEGOTIATIONS The EU has opened membership negotiations with both Albania and North Macedonia, a long delayed step towards the two countries joining the bloc.

PARTING SHOT

While Ireland had expected the current heatwave for several days, an unexpected thunderstorm warning was brought into effect earlier today.

Amidst the stormy weather, the Poolbeg towers in Dublin were hit by forked lightning, with some spectacular video being captured by onlookers.

This video was captured from across Sandymount Strand at St Vincent’s Hospital by Dr Roger McMorrow, who called it a “lucky capture” while he was walking up the stairs at work.

Lightning strikes #ESB #Poolbeg towers as seen from St Vincents Hospital this afternoon. ⛈ ⚡️ #thunder #Lightning #Dublin pic.twitter.com/Kh1Exyff6K

— Roger McMorrow 🇺🇦🇮🇪 (@RogerMcMorrow) July 19, 2022