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

IRELAND

Rain did little to discourage the diehard fans at the RDS Dublin Horse Show. Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

• Minister for State Robert Troy has apologised for errors in his Dáil declarations of interest.
• Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced the establishment of a Strategic Advisory Group on monkeypox led by the CMO.
• The HSE will set up a drug testing centre at Electric Picnic following a recommendation made by an expert working group set up as part of the National Drugs Strategy. 
• A man arrested in relation to the murder investigation of Miriam Burns has been released without charge. 
• A year since the Taliban returned to power and five months since applications stopped being accepted for Ireland’s special programme to help Afghans, no decisions have yet been issued on over 500 applications from people seeking temporary residence.
• Appointments have opened for people aged 55 and over to book their next Covid-19 booster vaccine. 
• There has been an increase in the number of personal loans taken out over the past year, with credit soaring for for home improvements, education and weddings in particular. 
• Gardaí have arrested a man this morning in connection with the robbery of a shop yesterday evening in the Dublin 6 area.
• A second man has been arrested in connection with the assault of a man in his 40s at a property in Arklow, County Wicklow, in the early hours of Tuesday, 2 August.

INTERNATIONAL

Locals from Bhaktapur in Nepal celebrating the Gai Jatra Festival. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#THOMAS O’HALLORAN A former British MP as well as Clare Senator Martin Conway have paid tribute to an 87-year-old man originally from Clare whose death in London is being investigated by police.

#NEW YORK The alleged attacker of Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges today at a brief court hearing in upstate New York.

#FINLAND A video of Finland’s prime minister Sanna Marin partying with friends has caused a flurry of controversy in the Scandinavian country. 

#UKRAINE President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has said that his country will not have peace with Russia unless it withdraws its troops from Ukraine, speaking after talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

#NEW ZEALAND The remains of two young children have been found in two suitcases bought at auction in New Zealand.

PARTING SHOT

There has been a steady stream of tell all books from the Donald Trump White House since he left for his Florida home allegedly with a few boxes of confidential documents back in January 2021. 

The latest on the shelves will be a book by Jared Kushner, Donald’s son-in-law and husband of Ivanka.

The book has been reviewed by the New York Times, whose critic Dwight Garner is not a fan.  

Garner didn’t spare it in his assessment of the book calling it “soulless” with a “lack of self-awareness” but he also gives space to highlight one memorable episode. 

It tells the story of how Bono, Bob Geldof and Rupert Murdoch all enjoyed lunch together at the French villa of the U2 singer while Geldof and Bono were serenaded by Billy Joel on piano. 

It reads like a scene out of a Hollywood film but one that the writers thought too fanciful so rejected it – you can read the full article here. 

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