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

IRELAND

Laura Sullivan launches Space Week, Ireland's interstellar programme of events, which will run from 4 to 10 October. Clare Keogh Clare Keogh

• A significant quantity of drugs were seized after elite Army Ranger Wing soldiers boarded and took control of a cargo ship off the Cork/Waterford coast.
• Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman reiterated his support for the fee freeze in the childcare sector despite pushback from providers, who protested outside Leinster House today.
• A man appeared in court charged over a collision in which a nine-year-old boy was killed in Bundoran, Co Donegal.
• Data released by the Central Statistics Office found that more than one in twelve young adults (8%) reported having their intimate images or videos shared without their permission during a twelve-month period.
• A Status Orange rain warning was issued for Cork, Kerry and Waterford for tomorrow as Storm Agnes is due to hit. 
• The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said he and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will meet with patient advocacy groups and families of children impacted by the crisis in paediatric orthopaedic surgery at Temple Street Children’s hospital this week.
• Members of the opposition called on the Government to immediately return to negotiations with Section 39 workers’ unions ahead of their proposed strike.
• Former Stardust manager Eamon Butterly denied telling a security warden that exit doors in the nightclub were locked during a concert over two years before the fatal fire, an inquest has heard.
• Inspectors were appointed by a housing regulator following financial concerns raised at the Peter McVerry Trust.

INTERNATIONAL

President Joe Biden joins striking United Auto Workers on the picket line, a demonstration of support for organised labour apparently unparalleled in presidential history. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#VIKTOR SOKOLOV Russia’s defence ministry published images showing the commander of its Black Sea fleet, one day after Ukraine claimed it had killed the high-ranking officer in a missile strike.

#CLIMATE CHANGE The International Energy Agency said that rich and developing nations alike must sharply improve their net-zero targets, warning that a clean energy surge was the main reason the world’s climate goals are still within reach.

#REFUGEES A powerful blast at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds more yesterday as ethnic Armenians streamed out of the breakaway territory after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of it.

#RIP Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in the 1960s and was the eccentric medical examiner in the popular NCIS 40 years later, died aged 90.

PARTING SHOT 

Have you ever managed to spot the Northern Lights from Ireland? One man was lucky enough to do just that twice in the last two weeks. 

A view from Gary O'Flynn's back garden of the Northern Lights on Sunday. Gary O'Flynn Gary O'Flynn

Two weeks ago, Gary O’Flynn, who lives Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, managed to catch a glimpse of the lights – albeit, through the lense of his camera – and caught some images of the event to remember his achievement.

He told The Journal he uses an app called ‘Glendale‘ to track his chances of seeing the sky show and has been tracking their whereabouts for the last few years.

He said that after returning home from a 15-hour work shift on Sunday, the app alerted that the status to see the lights was ‘Red’ – meaning conditions were clear and there was a high chance to see the Aurora again.

And while there’s never any guarantee you’ll see the natural light show, the coming equinox – when the sun crosses the earth’s equator – can give Ireland a better chance than normal.

From the back garden Glenbrien Enniscorthy Wexford #Auroraborealis #northernlights pic.twitter.com/bjIKasi6Ov

— Gary Oflynn 🇮🇪🇵🇸 (@efc1967) September 25, 2023