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

Mary Palmer, Susan Mulcahy, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Pamela Kerr, at the opening of Showcase 2026 at the RDS. Rolling News Rolling News

IRELAND

• Tánaiste Simon Harris said now is “a time for cool heads” as he met with fellow European finance ministers in Brussels to discuss Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on eight European nations
• The US has also invited Ireland to play a role on the so-called “Board of Peace” that would govern the Gaza Strip in Palestine, but Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said this morning that she had concerns about the scope of its proposed mandate
• A High Court judge ordered Enoch Burke be returned to prison for repeatedly breaching a court order instructing him not to trespass at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath
• A Central Criminal Court judge has accepted that he cannot review the sentence he imposed on one of the two men who murdered schoolgirl Ana Kriegel when they were just 13 years old
• A long-awaited inquest is set to get under way into the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe
• The co-founder of a homelessness charity which was used by Natasha Smith, a woman who died while sleeping rough in Dublin recently, described her as a “beautiful lady”
• An Irish person was amongst those released from Venezuelan prisons after the US captured and arrested the former president of the country Nicolas Maduro

INTERNATIONAL

Rescue workers at the scene of the train collision in southern Spain. Alamy Stock Photo / Guardia Civil Alamy Stock Photo / Guardia Civil / Guardia Civil

#SPAIN At least 40 people are confirmed to have died in a high-speed train collision in southern Spain, Spanish police said

#GREENLAND The European Council is to hold an emergency summit in the coming days, where leaders are to discuss next steps in light of Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland

#GOLD Gold and silver prices have hit record highs and stock markets slid this morning as investors sought safety after US President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs over opposition to his Greenland ambitions

#RIP Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani has died aged 93

#UK The UK’s Prince Harry told a court it is “disturbing to feel that my every move, thought or feeling was being tracked” so the publisher of the Daily Mail could “make money out of it

PARTING SHOT

Aurora over Ballynafagh Church in Co Kildare in April 2025. Sryan Bruen / Alamy Sryan Bruen / Alamy / Alamy

The Northern Lights could be widely visible in the coming days, although some uncertainty over the forecast remains.

Early indicators suggested that the timing of conditions would favour North America rather than Europe, but the latest data suggests an earlier arrival.

Cloud cover in Ireland could hinder visibility, although there will be clear spells.

Read more about our chances of seeing the Northern Lights here.