Here's What Happened Today: Thursday

The most important Irish and international stories you need to know today.

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

IRELAND

Clean Coasts0006 (1) Chris Martin, overall Photographer of the Year winner at the Clean Coasts Love Your Coast Photography Awards 2026 Naoise Culhane Naoise Culhane

A woman from Co Tipperary died following a hit-and-run collision in Belfast this morning.
There are “innovative mechanisms” available to gardaí to potentially question a suspect in the Jamey Carney murder case, the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said.
Temperatures of up to 30C were forecast for today after Met Éireann issued a fresh high temperature warning for much of the country, with forecasters saying there is still no immediate end in sight to the prolonged hot spell.
Aer Lingus could cut up to 500 jobs as the airline plans to reduce its flight capacity.
A teenager died in hospital following a serious assault in Co Meath last month.
Jozef Puska lost a bid to have his life sentence for the murder of Ashling Murphy commence from when he first went into custody, rather than the date the trial jury convicted him.
Recent testing of the €50 million failed Irish Rail IT project has found that the software is “demonstrably not suitable” for roll-out on the rail network in Ireland.
A scoping exercise into the Michael Shine abuse case has found that a Commission of Investigation is both “required” and should “start immediately”.
Jim O’Callaghan said he cannot make decisions based on the “interest of solicitors” amid the ongoing dispute over criminal legal aid.
The minister for nature and biodiversity said people are behaving recklessly by using disposable barbecues, after two major wildfires had to be extinguished this week.
The National Lottery is making one of the biggest changes to the Irish Lotto in years, cutting the number of balls from 47 to 45 and introducing a brand-new Monday night draw.
The MV Matthew, the cargo ship at the centre of Ireland’s biggest-ever cocaine seizure, is due to leave Cork Harbour after almost three years tied up at the port.
A new study published today revealed that Irish waters have become an important habitat to the endangered basking shark.
Dublin TD Marie Sherlock called for a temporary, six-week ban on e-scooters in order to get the “right regulatory systems in place”.

INTERNATIONAL

members-of-venezuelas-scientific-penal-and-criminalistic-investigation-corps-recover-the-body-of-one-of-yolimar-torress-two-daughters-whom-the-family-found-themselves-in-the-rubble-of-a-building Members of Venezuela's Scientific, Penal and Criminalistic Investigation Corps recover a woman's body from the rubble of a building collapsed by the twin earthquakes in La Guaira. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#MIDDLE EAST: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said they struck a US air base in Jordan with ballistic missiles, in response to what they described as an American attack near a children’s cancer hospital in the Islamic republic.

#VENEZUELA: Ireland is sending relief items to Venezuela to support those affected by two powerful earthquakes that struck the South American country last month.

#MYANMAR: The United Nations warned more than 500 people were feared dead following reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June.

#ITALY: An Italian Court convicted the former chief executive of Italian road operator Autostrade per l’Italia over the deadly collapse of Genoa’s road bridge that killed 43 people nearly eight years ago.

PARTING SHOT

this-photo-taken-in-sept-2007-shows-a-20-year-old-lionel-messi-who-had-embarked-on-his-legendary-barcelona-career-just-over-four-years-prior-cradling-lamine-yamal-who-was-merely-six-months-old-at Yamal's father called the encounter the beginning of two legends. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

You may have already seen the photo.

It’s gone viral on social media since World Cup defending champions Argentina beat England on Wednesday, cementing their place in Sunday’s final against European champions Spain.

And despite questions being posed by people online, it is very much not AI-generated.

The photo shows a long-haired Lionel Messi at 20 years old. In his fourth year at Barcelona, he was already considered a talented player, but he hadn’t yet cemented himself as arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

He’s giving a baby a bath during a photoshoot. That baby is none other than Lamine Yamal, the teenage football sensation who plays on the right wing at Barcelona, just as Messi did before him.

The two footballers will face each other for the first time on the pitch at the World Cup final in New York this weekend – something no one could have predicted when the photo was taken some 19 years ago.