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

IRELAND 

Pilots on strike outside Ryanair head office in Swords, Dublin. Source: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

• An explosion near the Fermanagh-Cavan border was a deliberate attempt to target police officers, PSNI has said. 
• A firm that built 42 schools, which were later found to have structural defects, has been awarded a contract to build a new block at University Hospital Limerick.
•  The HSE was criticised by disability advocacy groups for scrapping a €31.80 per week allowance for those starting rehabilitative training programmes next month.
• 610 complaints have been made about taxis in the first six months of this year, according to figures provided by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
• The HSE is carrying out multiple investigations into a number of pharmacies which have been accused of effectively defrauding the State .
• A new preclearance process was introduced to make it easier for partners of Irish citizens who are not from the European Economic Area to live and work in Ireland.
• Irish Water warned about potential smells from the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant in the coming days due to maintenance at the facility. 

THE WORLD 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, Cornwall. Source: PA Wire/PA Images

#UNITED STATES: US President Donald Trump confirmed he is interested in buying Greenland but said it was not a priority for his administration.

#BREXIT: The UK government moved to downplay Operation Yellowhammer, the secret plans for a no-deal Brexit which were leaked over the weekend.

#GRAN CANARIA: A fire on the Spanish holiday island forced the evacuation of some 5,000 people.

PARTING SHOT

A traffic officer in the UK has described this homemade motorcycle as the “most unusual vehicle” he had apprehended in 26 years.

'Most unusual' vehicle stopped on M25 in Hertfordshire https://t.co/O3Bwxi9GyO

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) August 19, 2019