NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round up of today’s news.

IRELAND

A garda checkpoint on the Kilcullen Road in Co Kildare. Eamonn Farrell Eamonn Farrell

• There were a further 68 confirmed cases of coronavirus today, with no new deaths
• The HSE said it’s working with Google to fix a problem with the Irish government’s Covid Tracker app that leads to Android phone’s batteries being drained quickly
• The Department of Health is preparing options to restrict non-essential travel from countries outside of the EU and UK with high rates of Covid-19
• Two of the four meat factories in Kildare where clusters have been identified have responded after questions were raised about whether they would reopen
• Gardaí in Dublin are investigating the body of a 50-year-old man was found at his home in Drumcondra
• Tributes have been paid to the former Labour Party Secretary General, TD, MEP and founder of the IIEA Brendan Halligan, who died aged 84. 

WORLD

Demonstrators in Beirut march to honour the victims of the deadly port explosion. Felipe Dana via PA Images Felipe Dana via PA Images

#BEIRUT: Countries have pledged to donate over €250 million to help Lebanon deal with the aftermath of the deadly Beirut port blast, saying assistance will be “directly delivered to the Lebanese population”.

#POLITICAL UNREST: Belarus braces for protests after incumbent leader Alexander Lukashenko appeared to win a heated presidential election.

#MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN: The US has registered over 5 million cases in the coronavirus pandemic, Johns Hopkins University’s real-time tally has shown, as well as over 162,000 deaths as the country struggles to control the disease.

#EXEMPLARY: New Zealand marked 100 days with no recorded cases of Covid-19 in the community.

PARTING SHOT

After a day of quite a bit of grim news, here’s a beautiful snippet from a brother and sister duet of this year’s Fleadh Cheoil to soothe your soul.