Taoiseach meets party leaders amid Stormont deadlock
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has accused the UK government of moving “too far in a unilateral way” over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Mr Martin also dismissed suggestions that the EU was being inflexible over the protocol and urged the DUP to rejoin the powersharing political institutions at Stormont.
The Taoiseach is in Belfast meeting with party leaders amid ongoing deadlock at Stormont over the post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Pelosi sends warning over protocol
The US Congress will not support a free trade agreement with the UK if the government persists with “deeply concerning” plans to “unilaterally discard” the Northern Ireland Protocol, House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said.
In a strongly-worded intervention, Ms Pelosi urged the UK and the EU to continue negotiations on the protocol to uphold peace.
The comments from Ms Pelosi are a reminder of the ongoing interest in Northern Ireland at the highest levels in Washington, amid political instability following the Assembly election.
HSE establishes team to monitor monkeypox
The HSE has established an Inicident Management Team to monitor the situation around monkeypox.
The multidisciplinary team will prepare services for the possibility of cases arising in Ireland.
A small number of confirmed or suspected cases have been reported this month in the UK, Portugal and Spain.
Wagatha Christie trial comes to a close
The "Wagatha Chritie" trial in the UK has come to a close after final arguments were made on Thursday.
The court heard Rebekah Vardy has suffered “public abuse and ridicule on a massive scale” as a result of Coleen Rooney’s “Wagatha Christie” posts about her and is entitled to “substantial damages”.
Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Mrs Rooney is defending the claim on the basis her post was “substantially true”.
A ruling on the libel trial has been reserved until a later date.
Capel Street officially becomes traffic-free
Capel Street has officially become Dublin's longest traffic-free street.
It will be opened up for use as a traffic-free street, apart from deliveries between 6am and 11am.
Works were carried out overnight and leaflets have been distributed throughout the area advising residents and businesses of the new arrangements.
It follows a public consultation during which 1,766 submissions were received.
