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

IRELAND

A woman tries on a pair of designer sun glasses in Brown Thomas in Dublin Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

• The Government unveiled a €75 million package for childcare providers to help them to re-open following their closure due to Covid-19 restrictions.
• Health officials confirmed another five deaths from Covid-19 in Ireland.
• It emerged that four men will stand trial at the Special Criminal Court next year in relation to the attack and false imprisonment of Quinn director Kevin Lunney.
• Almost one million surgical gowns and other items of PPE arrived in Shannon Airport on board the world’s largest aircraft.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that every country has a problem with racism to some degree.
• New figures showed almost €19 million worth of National Lottery prizes went unclaimed last year, but less than 1% of the total was returned in the form of prizes.
• A child who killed another teenager after finding him in a bedroom with his sister was jailed for five years.
• The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland rejected a complaint from Maria Bailey over comments made about her on RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke last year.
• Monsoon and Accessorize announced they would permanently close four Irish stores.
• The Road Safety Authority and gardaí launched a new road safety campaign urging road users to be extra cautious as the roads get busier. 

INTERNATIONAL

People attend an anti-racism protest in Hull, UK PA PA

#CORONAVIRUS: The World Health Organization’s Dr Michael Ryan said that the Covid-19 pandemic is “still evolving” and is “by no means over”.

#US: A statue of Christopher Columbus in the state of Virginia was torn down by protesters, set on fire and then thrown into a lake.

#RESIGNATION: Crossfit founder and CEO Greg Glassman confirmed he would step down from the company after criticism of comments he made about George Floyd.

#AXED: The television show Cops was dropped by the Paramount Network after 33 seasons on air amid rising racial tensions in the US.

PARTING SHOT

There’s no shortage of festivals that have been cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With fears about the transmission of the virus, it’s simply not feasible for many huge gatherings to go ahead.

But one man is staying positive. Lisdoonvarna match-maker, Willie Daly, expressed hope today that this year’s love-fest – which takes place in the town every September – can happen this year.

“Love cannot be stopped,” he told one reporter. “Covid-19 will make people seek a deeper type of love and make people aware of how special life is.”

We’ll see what happens in September.