WHAT’S THE STORY?

1. #GARDAGATE: Leo Varadkar has spoken again, this time voicing strong concerns over garda inquiries about destroying their archive of recordings.

Despite his colleague’s chatter, Alan Shatter wasn’t taking any questions on the matter this morning.

2. #WHALING: The UN has told Japan to end its yearly whale hunt, noting that the country tried to dress up a commercial activity as science. In Tokyo, eating whale meat is a culinary tradition as this photo of packs of whale meat on sale in the city attests.

3. #TRAGEDY: Kevin Browne, a 27-year-old Irish man, died after a suspected fall at a mine tourist attraction in Mount Isa, Australia (pictured) over the weekend.

4. #LONG LANE: A car explosion on a street in Dublin’s city centre sparked panic among locals this morning but there were no injuries reported following the incident.

5. #MELFIES: This happened in Berlin today…

Images: TheJournal.ie video; PA Wire; Wikimedia Commons; TheJournal.ie video; PA Wire

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