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

IRELAND

Helena Casey (10) pictured at the launch of Cairn Community Games, which aims to increase access to sporting and cultural activities for young people.

• Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he has received “preliminary” legal briefings relating to whether Ireland should join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
• DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson is briefing party members over UK government proposals aimed at ending Stormont’s powersharing impasse. 
• The sentencing of a Dublin man for the sexual abuse of two young girls was halted at the Criminal Courts of Justice after the accused was assaulted in the dock in a “serious breach of security”.
• Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that St Patrick’s Day will provide an opportunity for Ireland to send “a very clear message” to US leaders over the situation in Gaza.
• RTÉ released its list of the broadcaster’s highest paid presenters for 2022 and Ryan Tubridy remained top of the list in what was his last full year at the national broadcaster.
• Skeletal remains which are believed to be human were discovered in Co Cork.
• A man appeared in court charged with violent disorder in relation to the death of a suspected gunman in a Christmas Eve shooting in Dublin.
• Ryanair said net profit dived 93% in its third quarter as higher fuel costs offset rising revenues, resulting in a lower full-year earnings forecast.
• A woman was been jailed for her role in two robberies including one in which a 79-year-old widower was attacked with a clawhammer and stabbed multiple times.
• Three men who attacked two gardaí outside a takeaway, leaving both hospitalised and requiring medical attention, have been jailed for 27 months.

INTERNATIONAL

Palestinians are seen at a makeshift camp in Rafah Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#GAZA: The EU demanded an “urgent” audit of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and said it is reviewing funding, following Israeli allegations that some staff participated in Hamas’s 7 October attack.

#JORDAN: The United States vowed a ‘very consequential response’ to a drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three American troops.

#NOTTINGHAM: The UK government ordered that a review is to take place into the mental health services that treated Valdo Calocane, the man who killed Grace O’Malley Kumar (19) who was from an Irish family.

#PROTEST: French farmers have begun to choke off major motorways around Paris, threatening to blockade the capital in an intensifying standoff with the government over working conditions.

#VAPES: Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he would like to see a ban on disposable vapes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak set out plans to get rid of them.

PARTING SHOT

Image of food at Amy Austin in Dublin, which has been awarded a Bib Gourmand The Michelin Guide The Michelin Guide

Six restaurants on the island of Ireland have been awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide.

Only 20 restaurants across Ireland and the UK have been awarded a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 selection and the Michelin Guide said it caps a “brilliant year for the Republic of Ireland”.

The distinction is named after Bibendum – the official name of the Michelin Man – and is awarded to restaurants offering great quality and great value cooking.

Of the six Irish restaurants to achieve this accolade, three are in Dublin, and one apiece is in Cork, Kerry, and Belfast.