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LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul 2025
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.
1. In this morning’s lead story, The Journal Investigates reveals that Chinese surveillance equipment is in widespread use in Ireland.
Banned from sensitive government sites in the UK, United States and Australia, thousands of CCTV cameras from the surveillance giant record the comings and goings of everyday life: in government corridors, hospital wards, university campuses and council offices across the country.
2. US President Donald Trump has announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan, marking a key breakthrough for major US trade partners as they scramble to strike agreements before the end of the month.
The breakthrough makes Japan one of five countries to have signed an agreement – along with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines – after Trump promised in April he would get “90 deals in 90 days”.
3. The US Department of Justice is seeking to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the Trump administration struggles to quell a furore over its handling of the explosive case.
The former British socialite is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking of minors on behalf of Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
4. More than 100 aid organisations warned today that “mass starvation” is spreading in Gaza ahead of the US top envoy’s visit to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people face severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict.
5. Stars from the worlds of pop, rock and heavy metal have been paying tribute following the death yesterday of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne.
The announcement came just weeks after the band’s farewell performance at a day-long celebration of their career in their home city of Birmingham.
6. FKA Twigs and Shia LaBeouf have agreed to settle her lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship.
A lawyer for FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, filed a request in Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss her case against the 39-year-old American actor with prejudice, meaning it can’t be filed again.
7. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to an assault on a man by a group of youths in Tallaght over the weekend to come forward.
The incident happened in the Parkhill Lawn area of Kilnamanagh in Tallaght, Dublin 24 at around 6pm on Saturday evening.
The Indian man, who is aged in his 40s, was falsely accused of inappropriate behaviour and assaulted by a group of youths. He was stripped of his pants and underwear by the gang during the attack.
8. Journalists working for news agency AFP in the Gaza Strip said yesterday that chronic food shortages are affecting their ability to cover Israel’s conflict with Hamas militants.
Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted.
Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying “we have no energy left due to hunger”.
9. A ban on the mass fishing of sprat by large trawlers in inshore areas starting in October next year has been announced by the government.
The move has been taken following long campaigning by environmental and fisheries groups in a bid to protect whales, who rely on the small but protein-rich fish.
Previous attempts to restrict overfishing by large trawlers were overturned in the High Court in 2020 due to a lack of consultation with the industry.
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