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

Members of the public walk past artwork for sale as it hands on the railings around St. Stephen's Green Park in Dublin. Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

IRELAND

• The jury in the sex offences trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was sent home for the weekend and will continue its deliberations on Monday.
• A couple had their convictions for the female genital mutilation of their daughter, which were later quashed, declared a miscarriage of justice.
• Drone delivery company Manna said it will cease its operations in Ireland.
• The trial of Riad Bouchaker was told a garda presence was needed when he was in hospital because staff knew he was allegedly involved in the stabbing of a child and were nervous.
• Fianna Fáil junior minister and government chief whip Mary Butler said that the party’s former TD Brendan Kenneally has resigned his membership.
• Enoch Burke failed in his bid to have members of a panel overseeing a fitness-to-teach inquiry of the Teaching Council into allegations of professional misconduct against him removed.
• Ryanair agreed a six-year contract extension for chief executive Michael O’Leary, including a so-called “golden handcuffs” shares-purchase deal.
• Fingal County Council launched a public consultation for plans to transform lands in Dublin’s Dunsink into a “residential-led, mixed-use neighbourhood”.
• The owner of a well-known bar in Dublin criticised the justice minister for his insistence that the city is safe.

INTERNATIONAL

Labour's Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after winning the Makerfield by-election in England. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#MAKERFIELD: Labour’s Andy Burnham vowed to “lay out a new path for Britain” after he stormed to victory in the Makerfield byelection, securing a return to Westminster that spells trouble prime minister Keir Starmer’s future.

#MIDDLE EAST: A US official claimed Israel and Hezbollah agreed a new ceasefire, after planned US-Iran talks in Switzerland were abruptly called off following fresh strikes in Lebanon.

#DIPLOMATIC RIFT: Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “stunned” by comments that Donald Trump made about her to an Italian news channel, which prompted the country’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the US. 

#WORLD CUP: The Iranian football federation said it will lodge a complaint with Fifa claiming its team is being subjected to travel restrictions during the World Cup in North America.

PARTING SHOT

Lidl's 60-seater pub The Middle Ale in Dundonald, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Police in Northern Ireland attended a violent incident at Lidl’s first ever pub within hours of it opening its doors.

One man was hospitalised after what officers described as an “altercation” outside The Middle Ale bar in Dundonald, on the outskirts of Belfast.