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

IRELAND

Shoes left in Stephens Green during the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign to mark three years since the start of the genocide in Gaza. Leah Farrell / Rollingnews.ie Leah Farrell / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

• Two people were charged and appeared in court in connection with an investigation into a house fire in Waterford that claimed the lives of four members of the same family.
• A 32-year-old man was charged with the murder of Mark Cullen, who died following a shooting in Dún Laoghaire in Dublin during the summer.
• Talks aimed at establishing a framework for formal public sector pay negotiations started today, after unions agreed to suspend further strike action planned for next week.
• A house in Kerry was targeted in an arson attack in the early hours of this morning. No injuries were reported.
• Fine Gael Maria Walsh announced the birth of her first child, a baby girl named Nell Brigid.
• The operator of the Swords Express said providing off-site housing for its mainly foreign workforce would cost the company €6 million to €7 million and could make the company unviable. 

INTERNATIONAL

Protests in France turn violent. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#SANCTIONS US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that waived sweeping US sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia’s energy revenues, marking a new low in Washington’s ties with war-torn Ukraine. 

#WHITE HOUSE DRAMA Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia signed off with a glowing tribute to Donald Trump after losing her job just five days into the role. 

#VIOLENT PROTESTS Nationwide protests against the cost of living in France turned violent as protesters clashed with police in multiple cities, with one protester’s hand blown off by a police crowd control grenade.

#POISONING A nursery owner in northwest China was sentenced to life in prison after more than 200 children were poisoned by food containing dangerous levels of lead.

#POPE Leo XIV was discharged from a hospital in Rome where he has been recovering from lung cancer surgery. 

PARTING SHOT

Harry Styles has shared a song he penned to remember his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.

Styles played the track ‘What Is Enough’ during a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden on the second anniversary of Payne’s death on 16 October.

Payne died two years ago after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31 years old.

The lyrics go:

“I can tell you what it’s like
To bury friends on Wednesday nights
Gather in a garden ’round a fire

You dance until you’re tired
No you don’t, now you never will
Will You?”

Read the full article here.