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

IRELAND

School caretakers and secretaries at a picket outside St Vincent dePaul Infant primary school. The workers, represented by Fórsa trade union, marked their fourth day of indefinite strike action today. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• A woman in Co Mayo died after she was attacked by a swarm of bees. The incident occurred at approximately 5:40pm yesterday in Ballycastle, Ballina in Co Mayo. Gardaí assisted emergency services.
• The new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has made a public appeal for information in relation to a boy who went missing a number of years ago and is presumed dead by gardaí.
• In the latest surprise in the race for the Áras, former Met Éireann forecaster Joanna Donnelly has announced that she is making a bid for the presidency.
• Heather Humphreys was confirmed as Fine Gael’s presidential candidate.
• The presidential election is likely to take place at the end of October, with the necessary legislation to put the vote into motion set to be signed this week.
• Father Ted writer Graham Linehan has claimed he was arrested at Heathrow Airport over three posts on X about trans people.
• Dublin City Council has signed a contract for a company to provide around 300 bike bunkers across the city for people to store their bikes, ten years after a pilot scheme for the programme was first trialled.
• Gardaí have arrested three men in relation to a serious assault that occurred in Castlebar on Saturday 23 August.

INTERNATIONAL

Survivors sit on the rubble as civil defense workers and army soldiers search for survivors after a powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing many people and destroying villages, in Mazar Dara, Kunar province, Afghanistan. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#EUROPE: Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in Europe, with suicides rates rising following a decline before Covid-19, according to new research from Eurofound.

#AFGHANISTAN: A fresh 2.5-magnitude earthquake hit the east of Afghanistan today, jolting a region still struggling with the aftermath of a powerful quake at the weekend that killed more than 1,400 people.

#PALESTINE: Israel has begun mobilising tens of thousands of reservists and repeated evacuation warnings as part of its plan to widen its invasion of Gaza City, which has sparked opposition domestically and condemnation abroad.

#PALESTINE: Belgium will recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, its foreign minister announced today.

#FRANCE: A French investigating judge has ordered Gerard Depardieu to stand trial on charges of raping and sexually assaulting actor Charlotte Arnould in 2018, sources close to the case and a lawyer said Tuesday.

#SUDAN: A “massive” landslide in Sudan’s western Darfur region has flattened an entire mountain village and killed more than 1,000 people.

#FRANCE: French police have killed a man suspected of stabbing five people in the southern port city of Marseille, one of whom is in critical condition.

PARTING SHOT

A number of other high-profile figures have been linked to the Áras race, such as Michael Flatley, former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin and most recently, Bob Geldof.

Geldof, best known as the lead singer of The Boomtown Rats, told the Irish Independent he is undecided about entering the race. He revealed that he had a 15-minute phone call with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, during which the presidency was the main topic.

While Geldof said he was “flattered that people believe me capable of executing the job,” he added that he is unsure whether he actually would like to run.

Take our poll and tell us, if Bob Geldof ran for president, would you vote for him?