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

1. #METROLINK: Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said that there is an “utmost commitment” to deliver the Metrolink project, after it was relaunched this morning following Cabinet approval of the plan.

2. #BACK TO SCHOOL: Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that the Government are examining a package of measures to tackle the cost of back to school ahead of Budget 2023.

3. #RTÉ: The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee has called on RTÉ to reduce its dependence on State funding, and expressed concern at delays in the publication of a report from the Future of Media Commission.

4. #UKRAINE: Fighting raged in and around Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region today as Russian troops tried to build on recent battlefield gains, while Nato pressed ahead with Finland and Sweden’s historic membership bids.

5. #CORONAVIRUS: Businesses, schools and restaurants in the Chinese city of Xi’an will close for one week, officials said today, after it logged a handful of Covid-19 cases.