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

IRELAND

Gena Heraty, and all others who were kidnapped with her in Haiti, were relased today,

• Irishwoman Gena Heraty and all others kidnapped with her in Haiti were released
• Claire Byrne announced she is leaving RTÉ to go to Newstalk in a shock move
• The number of children in emergency accommodation surpassed 5,000 for the first time ever
• Jim Gavin is expected to seek the Fianna Fáil Presidential nomination (and Bertie didn’t rule himself out)
• Berlin police will ask its watchdog to investigate an incident where a Irish pro-Palestine activist was punched by officer
• A man, aged 72, lost his bid to continue working as a civilian garda driver
• Enoch Burke’s former school wanted him jailed after he returned to its grounds ‘posing for selfies‘, a court heard
• Personal items and adult human tooth were found in the first six weeks of the Tuam Mother and Baby home dig
• Customers were evacuated and a cinema was forced to shut after flooding in Galway shopping centre

INTERNATIONAL

Children in Gaza City this week, where residents are gripped by fear over the impending Israeli invasion. Alamy Alamy

#PALESTINE: Gaza City is gripped by fear as Israel began ‘preliminary operations’

#UNITED STATES: Trump revoked Secret Service protection for the former vice president Kamala Harris

#LEBANON: Harris called on the EU to begin training missions for the Lebanese army

#UKRAINE: Russian strikes killed two in a region of Ukraine which was previously spared from intense fighting

PARTING SHOT

In The Journal’s Good News section today, Isobel Moloney from the Take2 talent agency said that Flynn Gray, a 14-year-old Irish actor, worked really hard to earn his dream role in a new Star Wars film.

Flynn will appear alongside lead actor Ryan Gosling and the iconic Star Wars Landspeeder. You can read the full story, from Andrew Walsh, here.