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

IRELAND

Ospreys are a fish-eating bird of prey that went extinct in Ireland 150 years ago but are being reintroduced with the assistance of Norway. CHING - STOCK.ADOBE.COM CHING - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

• Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman has said that his department is considering using accommodation aboard barges or moored ships, also known as “floatels”, to house people seeking international protection.
• Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to go “beyond polite encouragement and cosy chats” to lower electricity prices for consumers.
• The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has announced that it is ready to move forward with the reintroduction of ospreys to Ireland this summer.
• Ireland’s cyber security chief has said that the State is working closely with NATO national security experts and projects to counter hybrid warfare threats. 
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil during Leader’s Questions today that he can “absolutely assure” that there will be a further increase to the the state pension in Budget 2024.
• Government will not  oppose a Seanad motion calling for the new Children’s Hospital to be named after Dr Kathleen Lynn. 
• The jury is set to begin deliberations in the trial of four men accused of taking part in a vigilante group attack on men guarding a repossessed farmhouse five years ago. 
• Former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin has been appointed to head up the North East Inner City (NEIC) task force. 
• The Stardust Inquests are of “utmost importance” to both the families involved and the wider public, the jury heard today, as it prepared to hear witness evidence in the coming weeks.

INTERNATIONAL

Personnel at Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, Portugal, as searches begin as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

#JUST STOP OIL Climate change protesters have tried to storm the stage at oil giant Shell’s annual shareholder meeting in London.

#DEAD Disgraced entertainer and convicted sex offender Rolf Harris has died aged 93.

#WAR IN UKRAINE Russia said it had deployed jets and artillery to destroy an armed group that penetrated its border from Ukraine, while the Kremlin demanded the military prevent any repeat attack.

#MADELEINE MCCANN Police have carried out new searches at a reservoir in Portugal connected to the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, who vanished from a resort in the Algarve region 16 years ago.

PARTING SHOT

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Dita Agusta poses with a cat at her cat shelter Rumah Kucing Parung in Bogor, Indonesia.

Agusta established the shelter for stray and abandoned cats in 2014 and currently cares for more than 800 felines.

Indonesia is home to nearly 250 million stray cats while the island of Bali, which is smaller than County Cork, has 500,000 stray dogs.

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