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

IRELAND

Daryna Lunina joins people from Ukraine in Grand Canal Dock this afternoon to celebrate Ukraine Independence Day Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• The body of a 14-year-old boy has been recovered from after he got into difficulty in the water at Passage West, Cork Harbour this afternoon. 
• RTÉ spent €106,000 on the first review by auditors Grant Thornton into the pay controversy that has engulfed the national broadcaster all summer.
• An Ironman competitor who died during the swimming section of a controversial race in Ireland smiled and waved to his fiancee and family as he entered the sea, his funeral has heard.
• There is currently no projected completion date for the new children’s hospital.
• The employment rate in Ireland is at its highest rate since records began in 1998.
• Irish Rail has reported a sharp rise in the level of anti-social behaviour on its services for the latest three-month period as concerns mount over crime in Ireland.
• Dublin Fire Brigade is this evening battling a blaze in an industrial unit in Tallaght. 
• A man has been arrested after three police officers in Belfast were injured when their patrol car was rammed multiple times.
• A giant US naval ship will dock in Dublin city centre tomorrow on a courtesy visit to the capital to coincide with a major American football match this weekend.

INTERNATIONAL

Former President Donald Trump's supporters gather outside of the Fulton County Jail Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#TRUMP: Donald Trump is to surrender on racketeering charges and likely have his mugshot taken at a Georgia jail today.

#WAGNER: Russian president Vladimir Putin has expressed his “condolences” over a plane crash thought to have killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

#FUKUSHIMA: Japan has begun releasing wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.

#GREECE: Hundreds of firefighters in Greece are struggling to tame major wildfires burning for a sixth day.

PARTING SHOT

This year’s winner of the Rose of Tralee festival was New York’s Róisín Wiley, who will hold the title for the next year.

There is an enduring appeal to the Rose of Tralee, but why? How has it stayed relevant enough to remain a yearly fixture in Ireland?

Joining us on this week’s episode of The Explainer is our own reporter Carl Kinsella, who was at the festival earlier this week and is author of the Surrealing In The Years column, and Rose of Tralee veteran Kirsty Blake Knox, journalist and features writer with the Irish Independent. 

They explore the history of the festival and how it has (or hasn’t) changed over the years, its relevance in today’s world, and look at what’s next for this year’s winner. Also – if they were a Rose, what would their talent be?

• Links to listen to the episode are available here. 

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