EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five biggest stories of the day.

1. #COVID-19: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed concern about reports of large numbers of people in public spaces over the weekend, but downplayed the idea of a complete lockdown in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

2. #DUBLIN: An eight-year-old boy has died following an attack by a number of dogs in Tallaght yesterday.

3. #SCOTLAND: Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has been cleared of attempted rape and a series of sexual assaults, including one with intent to rape.

4. #CLOSURES: The closure of McDonald’s restaurants in Ireland and the UK will be a “big blow” to the Irish beef sector, the Irish Farmers’ Association has said. McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of Irish beef annually – one in five of the chain’s burgers sold in Europe is of Irish origin. A number of other businesses including Supermac’s and Starbucks have also announced their plans to close.

5. #OLYMPICS: Japan’s prime minister has admitted a delay to the Tokyo Olympics due to take place later this year may be “inevitable” due to the Covid-19 crisis, and the International Olympic Committee said a decision should come within weeks.