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

IRELAND

Kevin Barden at O’Donoghues Bar in Dublin. Niall Carson / PA Niall Carson / PA / PA

• Organised crime gardaí have seized an estimated €35 million worth of suspected cocaine. Gardaí took control of two of the containers in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
• The UK Government will bring in a statute of limitations to end all prosecutions related to the Troubles before 1998. 
• A temporary call centre for people who have queries relating to their Digital Covid Cert received 4,000 calls on its first day on Monday.
• Public health officials have confirmed 783 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. 
• The National Car Testing Service (NCTS) has apologised after discovering it provided incorrect certificates of road worthiness to 34,000 people over the past year.
• Local representatives on Dublin’s northside have slammed Dublin City Council for its decision to demolish a historical structure on Clontarf’s Bull Island.
• Almost €7 billion has been set aside for Covid spending next year, according to the Government’s Summer Economic Statement, published this evening.
• A bill to ban ticket touting for large events has been signed into law by the president.

World

Supporters of the Taliban carry the Taliban’s signature white flags in the Afghan-Pakistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan. Tariq Achkzai / AP Tariq Achkzai / AP / AP

#BELARUS: Authorities in Belarus have raided offices and homes of dozens of human rights activists and journalists in a crackdown that comes just a day after the country’s authoritarian president promised to “deal with” non-governmental organisations he accuses of inciting unrest.

#HUNGARY: The European Commission is to launch legal action against EU member Hungary on Thursday in response to a law seen as discriminating against LGBTQ citizens.

#AUSTRALIA: Police have appealed for information to locate the body of a British backpacker murdered in Australia on the 20th anniversary of his disappearance.

PARTING SHOT

Our colleagues on the Good Information Project have been taking a look at the problems of the housing crisis. 

One key area is that of gentrification where local residents are priced out of the market. This excellent video examines the issue from the people of Dublin inner city.

"People are being pushed out to the outskirts of Dublin...a lot of people have emigrated because they can't even afford to stay."

As house prices soar vulnerable communities in Dublin's city centre feel they are being forced out of areas where they have lived for generations. pic.twitter.com/vIytwTHSv4

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) July 13, 2021