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

IRELAND

West Cork Tillage farmer Tim O'Connell sows Gangway Spring Barley on a field. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

• The Government has cleared the way for the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) to travel to Sudan to help Irish citizens leave Sudan.
• Revelations at the Garda Ombudsman office need an external investigation, garda representative bodies have said.
• The Government is considering the temporary scrapping of development fees and subsidising the building of affordable rental apartments in a bid to alleviate the housing crisis, junior minister Martin Heydon has said.
• President Michael D Higgins has paid tribute following the death of his dog Bród.
• Tributes are being paid to a talented Irish boxer who died in a car crash in the early hours of yesterday morning.
• There will be a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers today across many areas, with temperatures set to drop tomorrow night.
•  A UCD assistant professor has told The Journal that there needs to be a conversation about how we use AI.

WORLD

People enjoy to see fully bloomed moss phlox flowers at the Hitsujiyama park in Chichibu, western Tokyo. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#UKRAINE Ukrainian military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, according to a new analysis, giving rise to speculation that the advances could be an early sign of Kyiv’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive.

#BRITAIN  UK Labour MP Diane Abbott has had the Labour whip suspended after comments she made suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people are not subject to racism “all their lives”.

#ISRAEL Tens of thousands of protesters flocked to Tel Aviv and cities across Israel yesterday to vent their opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government and its divisive plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

PARTING SHOT

Dublin City will celebrate Lá Mór na Gaeilge next Sunday.

From 12pm-5pm Parnell Square in the city centre will be closed off to traffic, and music, workshops and all sorts of cultural events will be held to celebrate the Irish language.

The Irish language is the native language of this island. For well over a thousand years it was by far the most spoken language among the people.

This shifted over a number of centuries as a result of English colonial rule, the defeat of the old Irish aristocratic order, and seismic events like the Great Famine in the 19th century.

Some speak it daily and take great pride in the language as a piece of our unique culture but for others, Irish is a source of shame or embarrassment, or even an annoying nuisance that they feel should be done away with in education and public life.

We asked this morning: Do you speak Irish?