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

IRELAND

The mayors of Dublin's four local authorities, pictured with Jim Gavin, chair of the Dublin Citizens' Assembly on a directly elected mayor Citizens' Assembly Citizens' Assembly

• An officer in the Irish military’s response to cyber threats said the State must maintain momentum to prevent future online attacks.
• Gardaí arrested two men following an investigation of an aggravated burglary in Meath this week.
• Alliance leader Naomi Long said the UK government has sometimes used Northern Ireland as “a bit of a play thing”, which is “damaging” relations and devolution.
• The mayors of Dublin’s four local authorities said they would support the introduction of a directly elected mayor, as meetings of a Citizens’ Assembly on the issue continue
• Two men were arrested after an alleged burglary in an industrial park in Dublin 10 yesterday
• The state’s planning watchdog told South Dublin County Council to remove its effective ban on all future developments of new data centres within its administrative area
• Two cases of a newly classified Covid-19 variant of concern were confirmed here

WORLD

Irish MEP Grace O'Sullivan was one of the delegates due to travel to Palestine via Tel Aviv. Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

#EUROPE: A delegation of six MEPs cancelled a trip to Gaza after its chair was denied entry to Israel

#UKRAINE: Russian forces pursued their bombardment of frontline cities today, seeking to gain military momentum as Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy warned that only a diplomatic breakthrough rather than an outright military victory can end the war

#MONKEYPOX: A UK health official said the country is seeing daily infections of the rare monkeypox virus that are unconnected to any travel to West Africa, where the disease is endemic

PARTING SHOT

Some of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack PA PA

Survivors of the Manchester Arena terror attack and the city’s Mayor Andy Burnham are among those marking the fifth anniversary of the tragedy before running a 10km race through the city.

More than 20,000 racers in Sunday’s Great Manchester Run are applauding the 22 victims ahead of the starting pistol, while church bells will toll at 10.31pm – the time a bomb was detonated at the Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.