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

IRELAND

Charles Coyle, general manager of Tayto Park, pictured with a giant birthday cake to celebrate the first birthday of the park's Cú Chulainn Rollercoaster Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

• The European Commission has confirmed that Ireland is no longer exempt from water charges.
• An 82-year-old woman has been spared jail after being found guilty of using her husband’s dead ex-wife’s identity to claim €200,000 in welfare payments.
• Over 70 claims of cases of children with disabilities being abused have been received by health watchdog HIQA this year.
• An investigation has been launched after a child found a Kinder Surprise containing a bag of crystal meth beneath a hedge.
• Gardaí in Cork are investigating an alleged incident of a newborn baby being left in an unlocked car in the hot sun.
• We are not in the middle of a heatwave, no matter what your senses tell you.
• A teenager accused of a vicious assault in Temple Bar refused to get out of bed to attend court.
• Michael Healy-Rae talked up a candidate’s mass-going record as the Dáil tried (and failed) to elect a Leas Cheann-Comhairle.
• A prison letter from Ibrahim Halawa has detailed the torture he faces daily.
• Gardaí are investigating how €700,000 went missing from a Dublin credit union.
• Aer Lingus and Ryanair have changed how much it costs to check a bag.
• South Dublin residents  have complained about concert-goers ‘urinating at will all over the place’.
• A new report by the RSA suggests the depths Irish drunk drivers have stooped to in order to avoid arrest.

WORLD

Lionel Messi arriving to court in Barcelona today AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

#TRUMP: The presumptive Republican nominee wasn’t happy that a major golf tournament was moved from one of his courses to one in Mexico.

#FRANCE: Five have died in France and Germany as some areas endured the worst flooding seen for a century.

#PRINCE: The legendary performer died from an overdose a law-enforcement official has said.

#MESSI BUSINESS: Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has told a Spanish court “I was playing football, I knew nothing”, in relation to the charges of tax evasion he’s facing.

#GERMANY: German police have foiled a plot on the part of Isil to ‘detonate suicide vests in the city of Dusseldorf.

INNOVATION

• Tech billionaire Elon Musk believes that advancements in robotics will eventually relegate humans to the role of ‘house cat’.
• There’s now another easy way to find your lost phone.
• Minecraft is now officially the second best-selling videogame in history, but it has a long way to go before taking top spot.

PARTING SHOT

Peter Mulligan Peter Mulligan

It looks like the Luas Cross City project has finally seen the meeting of the red and green lines, pictured here at the junction of Marlborough and Abbey Streets just off O’Connell Street in Dublin’s north city centre.

On Snapchat: Another gorgeous day, and perfect for an ice cream. We popped into Murphy’s for a few scoops – check out the delicious story.

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