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

IRELAND

Posters and bunting supporting Irish Women’s Footballer Abbie Larkin hung up around her home neighborhood in Ringsend ahead of their first World Cup match tomorrow morning against Australia Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

• Only 474 homes have been delivered under the government’s shared equity First Home scheme during its first year.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to Ukraine.
• An investigation found “reasonable grounds for concern” in relation to physical or sexual abuse for 21 past or current residents at a HSE-run nursing home.
• The interim CEO of Tusla has said that there were 145 young people in emergency placements this week. 
• The Journal spoke to nine people from Ireland who are living abroad or on holiday in countries where the temperatures have soared over the last week during the Cerberus heatwave.
• A man who repeatedly sexually abused and raped a young girl who he was babysitting when he was a teenager nearly 40 years ago has been jailed for two years.
• Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she “appreciates people’s frustration” around the delay in licensing law changes that will allow nightclubs to open until 6am and pubs to open until 12.30am.
• The Irish Film Institute has announced that it will now offer popcorn from its cinema’s Box Office in a bid to “keep its doors open”.

THE WORLD

A firefighting helicopter flies through smoke as people look on in Mandra, west of Athens, yesterday Alamy Alamy

#GREECE Firefighting planes and ground crews were sent from several European countries to Greece where wildfires have intensified as relentless heatwave conditions are keeping much of southern Europe above 40 degrees Celsius. 

#US A federal judge rejected Donald Trump’s bid to move his hush money criminal case from New York state court to federal court.

#UK A man has been charged with murder after an Irish man was killed at his home in west London over the weekend. 

PARTING SHOT

The Journal Editor Sinead O’Carroll is in Australia for the World Cup – read her profile of Sinéad Farrelly before Ireland’s first game tomorrow.