LAST UPDATE | 16 Jan 2025

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

IRELAND

The Festival of New Work returns to Smock Alley Theatre from 13 Feb – 1 March 2025 Photorapher / Photocall Ireland Photorapher / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

• A High Court judge ordered Conor McGregor not to disseminate any CCTV footage that was shown during the civil trial taken against him by Nikita Hand. 
• Gardaí and customs officers investigating an alleged international drug trafficking scheme off Kerry have boarded a cargo ship at anchor in the Shannon estuary and arrested a suspect onboard. 
• Opposition TDs slammed the reported move by some independent members of the Dáil who support the incoming government to join an opposition technical group.
• Justice Minister Helen McEntee said that granting powers of arrest for a proposed public transport police has to yet be “explored”.
• Crossings between Ireland and Holyhead in Wales resumed as the Welsh port finally re-opens after being shut since damage sustained during Storm Darragh.
• Former women’s national team assistant coach Colin Healy hit out at the FAI over what he believes is a lack of “transparency and compassion” in the manner of his recent exit from the organisation.
• Gardaí caught a total of 266 motorists using their phones while driving over a 24-hour period yesterday.

INTERNATIONAL

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to quit if Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#PALESTINE: A meeting of the Israeli cabinet to discuss a ceasefire deal in Gaza was delayed as government infighting continued. 

#EUROPE: Dozens of MEPs wrote a letter to the European Commission expressing “deep concern” about Elon Musk’s interference in the politics of member states.

#RIP: David Lynch, the American director and artist who saw mainstream success while making the familiar strange and the unfamiliar terrifying, died aged 78.

PARTING SHOT

In the West Bank, villages like Umm Safa and Burqa endure relentless settler attacks, military-backed impunity and systematic violations of rights. From torched farmland to demolished schools, Palestinians face daily struggles for survival, yet continue to resist with courage, ingenuity and hope…

“TWO WEEKS AGO, there was a raid on my village. It was huge. I was sleeping, and my aunt — she lives with us in the same house — came to my room at 2 am. She was shaking from fear, and she was telling me, ‘Sana, Sana, they’re here!’ I heard them beating the doors of our neighbours, yelling. So I woke up with her, and we just stayed awake until 5 am, just like waiting and trying to see what will happen, with my aunt hysterically crying.”

Like so many people who live outside of the cities in the West Bank, Sana’ Karajeh has a story of a settler attack. But it doesn’t always end at 5 am. After an attack elsewhere in Ramallah, the Israeli army arrived, not to take testimonies or to protect the villagers of Umm Safa. Instead, they fired live ammunition, tear gas and sound grenades at Palestinians who had gathered in the village after the attack.

Read the full Voices article here.