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

IRELAND

People supporting the Pride flag outside the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Ballyfermot today. Sam Boal Sam Boal

• 380 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Ireland.
• The Taoiseach said the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines should be reconsidered for younger age groups to fight the spread of the Delta variant.
• Nine countries were added to Ireland’s mandatory hotel quarantine list.
• Homelessness fell slightly last month, but the Simon Community has issued warning about people facing lengthy spells in emergency accommodation.
• The Justice Minister said incidents in which domestic abuse victims had their 999 calls erroneously cancelled “should not have happened”.
• The High Court heard that data stolen in the HSE cyber attack was downloaded 23 times before being removed.
• Almost half of criminals released from a prison in 2018 re-offended within one year.

INTERNATIONAL

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin accompanied by defense attorney Eric Nelson in court today. AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

#CAP: European Union member states and the European Parliament have agreed on a major reform of farming subsidies, drawing concerns from NGOs that said it was not “green” enough.

#GERMANY: Three people have been killed and several others injured in a knife attack in the German city of Wuerzburg.

#USA: Former US police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22-years and six months in prison for the murder of George Floyd.

#ISRAEL: The health ministry has reimposed a requirement for masks to be worn in enclosed public places, following a surge in Covid-19 cases since the rule was dropped 10 days ago.

PARTING SHOT

Artist's impression of what Dragon Man may have looked like. Kai Geng Kai Geng

Move over neanderthals, Chinese researchers have unveiled an ancient skull that could belong to a completely new species of human.

The team of scientists claim the discovery has the potential to rewrite the story of human evolution. Their analysis suggests that it is more closely related to Homo sapiens than it is to Neanderthals.

Nicknamed “Dragon Man”, the specimen represents a human group that lived in East Asia at least 146,000 years ago.