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

IRELAND

Ireland's entry Emmy and her brother speaking to media today. RTÉ RTÉ

• A long-awaited internal audit on the €336,000 Leinster House bike shed has found that no value for money assessment was ever conducted in advance of the works
• The UN has lodged a formal “protest” with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) after an incident involving Irish troops in Lebanon
• A man was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of an intoxicant after a hit-and-run that left three cyclists requiring hospital treatment
• In major Irish culture news – Daniel O’Donnell is to take an extended break from his busy entertainment career
• Elsewhere, the new president of a group representing rank and file military personnel said that there is a need to confront the inequality in employment entitlements for new members
• Rising rents in Galway are to be investigated by the regulator for the private rental sector
• Gardaí told murder accused Richard Satchwell that his “story” about his wife’s death had “come apart” and did not match up with the evidence
• It’s feared the Irish Air Corps could face having to shut down its flight operations at night because it is losing air traffic controllers to high paid civilian jobs
• The family of Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin, who was murdered in India, have welcomed a decision to hold an inquest into her death in Ireland
• The Dáil heard today that children as young as as one years old had their “hips opened up, cutting into their bones” only to find out that these surgeries may have been unnecessary
• The jury at an inquest into the death of Daniel McAnaspie, a teenager who was in the care of the State when he was murdered over 15 years ago, has recommended the State carry out an urgent review of its approach to child protection and welfare

INTERNATIONAL

Zelenskyy speaking to journalists on the airport tarmac as he arrives in Ankara, Turkey today Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#GAZA: More that 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza today, as major human rights groups have warned the ongoing Israeli blockade on the territory has become a ‘tool of extermination’

#TRUMP: US President Donald Trump has has said that a deal is close with Iran that would avert a military strike on the country’s contested nuclear sites

#NEGOTIATIONS: A Russian delegation landed in Istanbul today for the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in more than three years – but without President Vladimir Putin, despite many world leaders urging Russia’s leader to attend

 #UK: R&B singer Chris Brown has been arrested in Manchester over an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub two years ago

#STARMER: Police in London have charged a man with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life in an investigation into attacks on and near the home of Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer

PARTING SHOT

It’s the second night of Eurovision 2025, and sixteen acts are competing for the ten remaining slots in Saturday night’s Grand Final.

Irish act EMMY has just performed, and controversial Israeli act Yuval Raphael will take to the stage shortly.

Watch along here, or check out our live blog for updates.