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

IRELAND

Georgia Mooney with Amy Smith and Jean Mooney enjoy swimming at the Forty Foot in Dublin as dog summer watches. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• The first group of Afghan refugees to be accepted into Ireland are arriving into Dublin Airport this evening, while the Army Rangers are being sent to Kabul to help with the evacuation.
• Six Irish men were rescued from Sweden’s highest mountain after being stranded there in freezing conditions overnight.
• Gardaí said they are investigating alleged breaches of Covid-19 restrictions at a licensed premises following the All-Ireland final.
• CMO Tony Holohan warned Ireland is still not at the peak of the Delta wave as a further 1,592 cases were confirmed today.
• The Arts Council has apologised for referencing racism faced by legendary US singer Nina Simone in a new ad campaign trying to draw a comparison faced by live performance artists during the pandemic.
• Gardaí have renewed an appeal for information related to the disappearance of Fiona Pender, was seven months pregnant when she was last seen in Tullamore 25 years ago today.
• A sailor was rescued after being reported missing from a container ship 16 miles off the Wicklow coast, while a swimmer in Kerry was brought to safety after an eight-hour search.
• Simon Coveney is to open an Irish embassy in Ukraine during a visit to the country in a bid to increase Ireland’s global footprint.
• There has been a €7.7 million increase in spending on fizzy drinks, burgers and grilled meat this summer.

WORLD

Former Afghan interpreters protest in front of the Home Office in Westminster, central London, demanding that evacuations from Kabul continue. Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images PA PA

#AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban said it was hoping to negotiate with resistance forces holed up in the country’s Panjshir Valley rather than take the fight to them.

#ROTTEN: Two former members of the Sex Pistols have won a High Court battle against former frontman Johnny Rotten over the use of the punk band’s songs in a forthcoming television series.

#APPROVED: The US has fully approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for people aged 16 and older, a move which is expected to trigger a new wave of vaccine mandates as the Delta variant spreads throughout the US.

#FLOODING: 22 people have died in Tennessee in the US.

PARTING SHOT

“Don’t be afraid to meet your heroes – or, indeed, don’t be afraid to slide into the DMs of your heroes’ agent and brother – are the lessons to be gleaned from last week’s baffling collision of worlds between Kerry U20 footballer Paul Walsh and Ronaldinho.”

Gavin Cooney at our sister site The 42 recounts an unlikely meeting.