Met Éireann has issued two heat warnings as temperatures are expected to remain high for the next three days. People are being urged to take care in the extreme conditions. With temperatures expected to top 30 degrees today and stay as high as 26 tonight, UCC climate scientist and founder of Ireland’s Weather Channel, Cathal Nolan, said the heat may intensify today. Irish Water has warned a surge in demand for drinking water, coupled with falling supplies, is “not sustainable” and could worsen drought conditions.
Holidaymakers have been warned to be aware of the rules of the country they are travelling to after a number were forced to enter hotel quarantine in Malta. Irish travellers to the island had not yet received their certificates and the HSE-issued cards were not accepted by Maltese authorities. Malta's implementation of the Covid certificate is among the strictest in the EU.
Des O’Malley, the founder of the Progressive Democrats and former Fianna Fáil minister, has died aged 82. In his 34-year career, he served in four different governments and held a range of senior ministerial portfolios.
Cabinet ministers are expected to sign off on guidelines for the resumption of indoor dining today. It will allow pubs and restaurants to serve indoors from next Monday - once the President signs off on the legislation.
The “pointless” enforcement of EU rules on Irish Sea trade is threatening Marks and Spencer’s business operations on the island of Ireland, its chairman has warned.
China’s military has blasted a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most heavily populated provinces. The operation came after at least 12 people died in severe flooding in the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, where residents were trapped in the subway system and left stranded at schools, apartments and offices.
Australia's two largest states reported sharp increases in new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, a blow to hopes that lockdown restrictions would be lifted with more than half the country's population under stay-at-home orders.
Finally, the rearranged Tokyo Olympics got under way in low-key fashion on Wednesday as Japan’s women’s softball team prevailed over Australia in Fukushima.
