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LAST UPDATE | 28 mins ago
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know to start the day.
1. Israel’s defence ministry announced a “preemptive strike” against Iran as loud blasts were heard in Tehran this morning.
Two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital.
2. New rental laws are coming in tomorrow – and in Galway, there’s concern that these new laws will heap pressure on people already struggling with rent hikes, almost a year since the state’s private rental watchdog flagged mounting issues in Galway’s rental sector.
3. A new child maintenance calculator to help parents in coming to payment arrangements has been launched by the government this week.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the innovative online child maintenance calculator is aimed to be a helpful tool for parents who choose to make private arrangements for child maintenance between themselves, rather than through the court system.
4. A Limerick priest said it is “totally regrettable and very problematic” that Catholic churches across the Midlands and west have been barred from facilitating open-coffin wakes.
Earlier this week, a letter that was recently sent to funeral directors by Bishop Paul Connell, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise was published, banning the practise.
5. A law firm said it has been “inundated” with emails from Irish students querying whether they could be entitled to compensation after their college experience was significantly disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
6. Wexford’s Derek Kent was elected as the 42nd President of the GAA.
The former Leinster GAA chairman will succeed Jarlath Burns in the position, after holding off competition from Ger Ryan (Tipperary) and John Murphy (Sligo).
7. A Nigerian man who wants to stay in Ireland after he wed a Lithuanian woman in what was described as a “marriage of convenience” can be deported after his latest attempt to remain failed in a process he began over 16 years ago.
8. Security preparations are underway as Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, is set to spend a few days sampling the delights of Cork next month for a major summit, The Journal has learned.
Both the Irish Defence Forces and gardaí are preparing plans for the visit which will have heavy security.
9. US singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka, known for hits including Laughing in the Rain, died at the age of 86.
In a post to the musician’s Facebook, his family wrote that they were “devastated” by his “sudden passing”.
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