Here's What Happened Today: Wednesday

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

IRELAND

Ireland's Finlay Bealham with his family after the British and Irish Lions win in Queensland. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

• The Journal Investigates revealed that there has been a sharp rise in complaints alleging inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment within the National Ambulance Service.
• A joint study revealed that the population of the island of Ireland reached 7 million for the first time since the 19th century. 
• The Court of Appeal said it intends to refer Conor McGregor’s application to withdraw “fresh evidence” that he had sought to introduce as part of his civil case appeal to the Director of Public Prosecutions. 
• The founder of the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People in Dublin City, Brother Kevin Crowley, passed away.
• Former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey pleaded guilty to ten counts of fraud at a Dublin court.
• A man appeared in court charged with the murder of pregnant mother-of-two Sarah Montgomery in Co Down.
• Microsoft will lay off just under 4% of its workforce in a new round of job cuts, the company confirmed today. Microsoft employs around 4,000 people in Ireland

INTERNATIONAL

A man wets his face at a public fountain in downtown Mainz, Germany Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#ISRAEL-PALESTINE: US President Donald Trump urged Hamas to agree to a 60-day ceasefire that he said had Israel’s backing.

#CLIMATE CRISIS: The European heatwave that has already scorched the western and southern parts of the continent began spreading eastwards today, bringing extreme weather warnings to Germany and causing motorways to buckle.

#NEW YORK: Music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ combs was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering charges but found guilty of prostitution-related offences by a jury in New York today.

#UK: MPs in the UK voted overwhelmingly to ban the activist group Palestine Action and label it a terrorist organisation. 

#EU: The European Commission proposed a new climate target for 2040 – but campaigners say the plan to get there contains loopholes for countries to exploit. 

PARTING SHOT

POLITICIANS ACROSS THE UK have been falling over themselves to condemn punk group Bob Vylan for leading an impromptu chant at the Glastonbury music festival — “Appalling”, “revolting”, “totally unacceptable” according to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and several of his ministers.

On the same day the two-piece appeared on the West Holts stage, Israeli newspaper Haaretz published first-hand testimony from Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers confirming what many already knew; the Israeli military is actively killing civilians seeking aid in an enclave where 100 per cent of the population is at risk of famine.

Over 400 people, including women and children, have been killed by the IDF at US-Israeli-backed ‘aid’ sites in just one month, their lives cruelly and violently taken over a bag of flour.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer made no statement on these reports, nor did they make headline news. Seemingly, the British PM and many others appear to be more outraged by 17 seconds of chanting at a music festival than by crimes against humanity. Following their Glastonbury performance, Bob Vylan have been dropped by their management, had their US visas revoked, and are under a criminal investigation.

You can read Emma DeSouza’s full Voices article here.