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

IRELAND

Kite Surfers just off Dollymount strand in Dublin Bay today. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• 378 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland.
• The online booking system for Covid-19 vaccines will open from Wednesday for the 40-44 age cohort. 
• A former Virgin Media payroll administrator accused of stealing €870,000 from the TV station was sent for trial.
• The Minister for Housing and Local Government told councils to put more bins in areas where people are known to gather.
• The Rose of Tralee International Festival was called off for the second year in a row as a result of Covid-19.
• The level of compliance with Covid-19 restrictions fell to its lowest level since last summer ahead of May’s reopenings.
• Gardaí launched a fresh appeal to identify a man whose body was found at the Cliffs of Moher in 2010.
• Commemorations were held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Strand bombing in Dublin.

WORLD

PA PA

#MIDDLE EAST: A senior Hamas official said Israel must halt its “aggression” in both Gaza and Jerusalem if it wants calm following an 11-day war earlier this month.

#CLIMATE CHANGE: New research indicated that between 1991 and 2018, more than a third of all deaths in which heat played a role were attributable to human-induced global warming.

#DENMARK: Sweden’s defence minister has demanded that Denmark explain why its foreign secret service allegedly helped the US spy on European leaders.

#BABIES: China relaxed its family planning policy to allow couples to have three children after a census showed its population is rapidly ageing.

PARTING SHOT

Dublin City Council discussing outdoor areas. pic.twitter.com/awsYea9Cf1

— Seán Burke (@SeanBurkeShow) May 31, 2021

Click here if you can’t see the tweet.

After a weekend that saw rubbish pile high at socialising hot-spots, comments from Dublin City Council that the provision of extra bins and toilets at busy locations would “create more of an issue” sparked an outpouring of reactions. 

Among those exercised by the remarks was comedian Sean Burke, whose satirical slant on the council’s comments had quickly racked up nearly 100,000 views on Twitter and Instagram at the time of writing.