GOOD MORNING. 

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

Iran

1. Israel’s military conducted “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran overnight, but it said it did not target the Middle Eastern nation’s nuclear or oil facilities.

Iranian state media reported sounds of explosions near the capital, but there has been no immediate information on damage or casualties.

Election 24

2. We are now mere weeks – or possibly even days – away from the starting gun being fired on this general election, with the coalition leaders agreeing this week that the country would go to the polls in 2024. 

Our reporter Jane Matthews has everything we know so far about how the election is shaping up.

US election

3. Meanwhile, in the US, Beyoncé has told voters that it’s time for America to “sing a new song” and elect Kamala Harris as US president.

The Grammy-winning singer appeared at a campaign rally for the US Vice President and Democratic nominee in Houston, Texas, where Harris told the crowd that Donald Trump would outlaw abortion “in every single state” if he is elected.

War crimes

4. A security expert has said that Israel’s targeting of peacekeepers in Lebanon is nothing short of a war crime, and “we don’t have to fudge the language about it”.

Shelly Dean, a researcher at UCD’s School of Law and Government told The Explainer podcast that the recent attacks on Unifil observation posts breach international law.

Fatal crash

5. A man in his 20s has died following a single-vehicle crash in Co Sligo.

The incident happened on the R294 road in the townland of Drimina, Tubbercurry at around 3.45am this morning.

Leo Lieghio

6. The Government should pay more heed to the recommendations of the Road Safety Authority instead of disbanding it, a road safety campaigner whose teenage daughter was knocked down and killed at a pedestrian crossing has said.

As one of its last acts before the next general election, the government wants to disband the RSA. Minister of State for Road Safety James Lawless told The Journal this week he believes the RSA’s variety of functions are all facing problems that are not being adequately dealt with.

Sex trafficking

7. The former boss of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch has pleaded not guilty sex trafficking and prostitution charges in New York.

Mike Jeffries, 80, his partner Matthew Smith, 61, and a third man, James Jacobson, 71, were arrested in the US on Tuesday morning after being charged with one count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution.

Ukraine

8. A Russian drone struck a high-rise residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, killing a teenage girl and injuring five other people, authorities said.

A reporter for news agency AFP nearby saw a drone buzzing overhead before crashing into the building’s facade, erupting into a fireball that set several upper floors ablaze.

League of Ireland

9. Shelbourne are one game away from ending an 18-year wait to win the Premier Division title after a tense 2-1 win over Drogheda on Friday evening.

Goals from Sean Boyd and Rayhaan Tulloch put the league leaders into a commanding lead.