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

IRELAND

The Irish Dholis pictured at the Diwali festival at National College of Ireland today. Rolling News Rolling News

• Fine Gael faced heavy criticism today over its attack on presidential candidate Catherine Connolly’s past work as a barrister, including from Connolly herself
• Fellow Áras hopeful Heather Humphreys was questioned by reporters over the credit union that she formerly managed taking legal proceedings over loan defaulting during the time that she was manager
• In other Áras race news, a case attempting to stop the presidential election on the basis that the nomination process for the presidency is unconstitutional was thrown out of court
• Elsewhere,Waterford councillors backed a deal that they hope will allow private sector investment worth up to €32 million to make the regional airport viable again
• Tusla inquired into less than one-in-five referrals it received about child welfare issues in parts of Dublin earlier this year
• Groceries in Ireland are now at the highest level of inflation since December 2023 as Irish shoppers’ spending on foodstuffs rises
• The Public Service Obligation levy is to be decreased from December, reducing electricity prices for customers across the country
• A man in his 30s was arrested by gardaí as they investigate reports of a girl being assaulted in Dublin
• Dublin Airport’s plane-spotting site ‘the Mound’ is set for major upgrade after a plans to develop a plane-spotting hub got the green light

INTERNATIONAL

An Israeli soldier pictured in a tank along the Israeli-Gaza border. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#AMAZON: Major apps such as Snapchat, Slack and Canva are showing “significant signs of recovery” after an outage at Amazon Web Services earlier today

#GAZA: Israel said it has begun the “renewed enforcement” of the ceasefire with Hamas, after it carried out a wave of strikes on southern Gaza yesterday

#UK: Prince Andrew has come under heightened scrutiny ahead of the publication of accuser Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir

#COLOMBIA: US President Donald Trump has said he is cutting aid payments to Colombia, accusing its leader of failing to prevent the production of drugs like cocaine

#ISRAEL: There was anger in Israel after police banned the Israeli Premier League’s Tel Aviv derby amid chaotic scenes, triggering complaints from the clubs and political opposition

PARTING SHOT

We were blessed with more photos of the first pet (a.k.a. Michael D. Higgins’ pet dog Misneach) on social media this evening.

It’s the Bernese Mountain dog’s fifth birthday today.

Happy birthday Misneach!

Happy 5th birthday Misneach! Lá breithe shona duit! 🐾 pic.twitter.com/lZSyt27SbR

— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) October 20, 2025