LAST UPDATE | 2 Mar

GOOD MORNING. 

Here’s all the news you need to know to start the day.

Conflict in the Middle East

1. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 31 people and wounded 149, after Israel bombarded the country following Hezbollah fire.

Commuting 

2. ‘Packed, sweaty and feels unsafe’ is how many of our readers have summed up their experience of commuting on Irish Rail services.

Actor Awards

3. Jessie Buckley has won the Best Leading Female Actor award for her role in Hamnet at the 32nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

Iran

4. A suspected drone strike hit a British air force base in Cyprus, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said, just hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to allow the United States to launch attacks from bases in the Middle East. 

PGA Tour

5. Shane Lowry suffered a brutal collapse at the Cognizant Championship on the PGA Tour on Sunday, blowing a three-shot lead with only three holes remaining to finish second and two shots short of Colombian Nico Echavarria. 

Oil prices

6. Oil prices have shot up since the United States and Israel launched a massive attack against Iran on Saturday, which killed the country’s supreme leader and has led to Iranian strikes against US-aligned states across the Middle East. 

Advice for Irish citizens

7. Irish citizens in the Gulf and Middle East have been advised again to shelter in place and register their location with the Department of Foreign Affairs as flight disruption continues across the region.

Heat pumps

8. It will be 2042 by the time Ireland achieves its target of fitting 400,000 existing homes with heat pumps based on current trends, a new study has warned.

Austin

9. A gunman who killed two people and wounded 14 overnight in Austin, the capital of the US state of Texas, had expressed “pro-Iranian regime sentiment” on social media, the SITE Intelligence Group said.