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

IRELAND

Striking a yoga pose at the summit of Lacknafrankee in the Comeragh Mountains, Claire O’Sullivan gears up for the Comeraghs Wild Festival, taking place in Waterford from 10-13 July. Patrick Browne Patrick Browne

• Roads around the unmarked burial site at the Tuam home were sealed off as pre-excavation work begun at the site.
• A Donegal man who had lived in Boston for more than 15 years was deported to Ireland over the weekend, less than a month after he was detained by US. immigration officials for violating his visa waiver.
• Dublin TD Paul Murphy was again detained by authorities in Egypt, before being released tonight.
• A senior Sinn Féin TD defended his party’s stance that extending temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees is a “mistake” for Ireland.
• A young man who died after an e-scooter crash in Finglas was named by gardaí as 21-year-old Jack Goss.
• In further grim news on Irish roads, a man in his 40s died after a crash involving a car and a motorcycle in Monaghan.
• A drink driving prosecution against a former All Star hurler for Cork was dismissed.
• The Irish Congress of Trade Unions called on the Government to end the “over-dependence” on corporation tax receipts.
• Five secondary school students have this morning flown from Shannon Airport to Orlando after winning a prestigious NASA space design competition.

INTERNATIONAL

Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television after an Israeli strike today in Tehran, Iran. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#MIDDLE EAST: A rapidly escalating air war between Iran and Israel raged for the fourth consecutive day, with Iranian state TV struck during the bombings.

#GAZA: Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians who were waiting to collect food, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.

#EU AND ISRAEL: Several Irish MEPs strongly criticised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for publicly supporting Israel and placing blame on Iran in the escalating conflict, accusing her of acting without the mandate of EU member states.

#META: WhatsApp announced it will introduce widespread advertising features for users, marking a significant shift for the messaging platform that has largely remained ad-free since its launch.

PARTING SHOT

“From plays, concerts, sports days, dress-up days, field trips, discos, fundraisers, craft fairs, parents V children football matches, demonstrations, grandparents’ days, prizegiving, and graduations, the entire month, more or less, gets hijacked by a jam-packed few weeks of end-of-school and after-school activities. Many parents can simply no longer keep up.

“In the United States, they’ve even coined a phrase for it – ‘Maycember’. It’s the “manic time of year when parents find themselves drowning in end-of-school activities, sporting events, concerts, awards and teacher appreciation days.”

“Even though I hate to agree with an ick-inducing portmanteau such as that, this month feels eerily similar to the run-up to Christmas in terms of stress levels and calling it ‘Junecember’ might not be far off the mark.”

Our columnist Niamh O’Reilly – a self-described wrangler of two small boys – on the stress from end-of-year school events. You can read more here.