Here's What Happened Today: Monday

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

IRELAND

• President Catherine Connolly said she is “very proud” of her sister Dr Margaret Connolly, who was today detained by Israeli forces while part of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. 
• President Connolly also said Britain’s King Charles has “graciously accepted” an invitation to make a State visit to Ireland next year.
• Aaron Connolly, who has spent over three years in jail serving a life sentence for the murder of teenager Cameron Reilly, had his conviction quashed on appeal.
• Union representatives for the National Ambulance Service expect talks with the HSE at the Labour Court to be “challenging”.
• Staff at Revenue were warned under no circumstances to use their work password anywhere else after 137 of its employees were caught up in a data breach involving a supplier.
• A man died following a single-vehicle crash in Leitrim yesterday.
• Embassy staff have been caught speeding 22 times in the past three years – but diplomatic immunity meant they avoided any penalties.
• More than 20 million vapes sold in Ireland last year were not returned for recycling, according to new figures from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. 
• A man in his 30s is in a critical condition following a serious assault in Dublin 15.
• Kildare County Council invalidated Conor McGregor’s house planning application after finding the plans lodged on behalf of the MMA fighter “are misleading and incorrect”.
• The consumer watchdog warned of “shocking” levels of consumer problems with car hire abroad, with over 40% of holidaymakers encountering issues with their rental last summer.
• Revenue officers last week seized contraband with an estimated value of over €695,000 in separate operations across Dublin, the Midlands, Co Cavan and Rosslare Europort.

INTERNATIONAL

#EBOLA: An outbreak of a new strain of the deadly Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda prompted the World Health Organisation to declare a public health emergency of international concern.

#HANTAVIRUS: A CRUISE SHIP that sparked global alarm after a deadly outbreak of hantavirus has docked in Rotterdam harbour, with the skeleton crew facing weeks of quarantine.

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#DEATH PENALTY: The number of executions carried out around the world surged to its highest recorded level in more than four decades last year, according to a new report from Amnesty International.

#EUROVISION: The head of Moldova’s public broadcaster announced his resignation after the country’s jury threw its support mainly behind Israel and Poland in the weekend’s Eurovision competition.

PARTING SHOT

A Spanish court ordered the tax authority to refund Colombian pop star Shakira more than €55 million improperly collected in a dispute over her 2011 taxes, according to a ruling seen today.

The National Audience said tax authorities had failed to prove that the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011, the legal threshold requiring residents to pay personal income tax in the country.

Shakira welcomed the ruling, saying the court had “finally set the record straight” after years of “brutal public exposure, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately affected my health and my family’s wellbeing”.

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