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

IRELAND

A giant inflatable American football was unveiled on Dublin’s River Liffey today to celebrate the city hosting the US College football game between K-State and Iowa State. Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

• Eight men were sentenced to a range of prison terms ranging from 20 years to 13 years for their part in Ireland’s biggest ever drugs seizure
• Irish Athlete Ciara Mageean has announced that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment
• Gardaí have called in army experts to deal with an “unexplained device” found near Aughinish Alumina factory in County Limerick
• A virtual tour of Midlands Prison which aims to inform and reduce anxiety among incoming prisoners and their visitors was unveiled today
• A mother and daughter who died after a road traffic collision on the Inishowen peninsula in Co Donegal on Wednesday evening were named locally as Natalie McLaughlin and 6-year-old Ella from Carndonagh
• Irish MEPs are divided on next week’s motion of confidence in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
• Irish band The Scratch pulled out of Radar Festival in protest of Bob Vylan being dropped from the lineup
• Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stressed the need to create more childcare places across the country quickly while speaking to reporters in Japan

INTERNATIONAL

Firefighter uses hose as they try to extinguish blaze on south coast of Crete island, Greece

#GREECE: A wildfire on the Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of 5,000 tourists

#FRANCE: French police have punctured an inflatable boat carrying migrants off the northern coast for the first time, in what UK officials are calling a “significant moment” in efforts to curb record Channel crossings

#PARTEY: Thomas Partey, a former Arsenal midfielder, has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, according to a statement from the UK Crown Prosecution Service

#UK: Former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he is looking to form a new UK political party

#ROLL WITH IT: Ohave kickstarted their long-awaited worldwide reunion tour in Cardiff this evening, their first concert in almost 16 years

PARTING SHOT

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

There is little doubt that the taking of the MV Matthew was a huge success story for Irish law enforcement agencies and the Irish military – it was the proof of a concept that had been promised by state agencies for decades, Niall O’Connor writes.

The operation that led to the capture of the vessel, along with its haul of cocaine worth some €157 million, came about through sharing of information among a raft of Irish and international law enforcement and military agencies.

It demonstrated how, when it comes to large-scale crackdowns on drug trafficking, the haphazard approach of old, hoping that touts will inform the gardaí is now a lottery of the past.

Operation Piano – as the operation was called – was as sophisticated as it can be, with an international web of agencies all working together.

Read Niall’s full explainer on the MV Matthew seizure here.