The 5 at 5: Friday

The 5 at 5 Five minutes, five stories, five o’clock…

EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, The Journal brings you five of the biggest stories of the day.

1. #GRAHAM CAREY A prominent anti-refugee campaigner has been barred from using social media after he appeared in court charged with incitement to hatred over online posts made earlier this week.

2. #SPY BALLOON US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to China as the Biden administration weighs a broader response to the discovery of a high-altitude Chinese balloon flying over sensitive sites in the western United States, a US official said.

3. #DEFENCE FORCES Trooper Shane Kearney will be discharged from Beaumont Hospital today and continue his recovery at home, the Defence Forces have announced

4. #REFUGEES The urgent plea from Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman to his ministerial colleagues to find large buildings and facilities to house refugees “is a reflection of the strain the system is under”, according to the finance minister.

5. #RIP Spanish fashion designer Paco Rabanne, known for his eccentric clothing designs and for founding one of the world’s best-known fragrance brands, died today at the age of 88.