By Sarah Gill
20th Jun 2023
20th Jun 2023
Your speedy summary of today's must-read stories.
World Refugee Day
Today, the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) and the Ireland For All will be joining forces for an event that invites people to join them and several other solidarity organisations in honouring the strength and resilience of refugees worldwide. The event takes place at 5.30pm in the Garden of Remembrance, and those planning on heading along are encouraged to bring contingents, banners, and placards.
Women’s Aid support services
There was a 16% rise in the number of contacts made with Women’s Aid support services last year, totalling 31,229 to the organisation working to prevent and address the impact of domestic violence and abuse. The abuse included coercive control, emotional abuse, physical violence, sexual abuse and economic control. Support workers heard almost 34,000 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children.
Bodycams for frontline gardaí
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is to immediately begin buying long-awaited bodycams for frontline gardaí, which have been described as “crucial” for the safety of the force. This comes after more than 2,000 gardaí were assaulted on duty in the last seven years, 186 of which were in this year. However, the rollout of controversial facial recognition technology (FRT) will be delayed after Ms McEntee was forced to back down in an internal Coalition row between the Green Party and Fine Gael on the issue.
Lough Derg rescue
At 1.39am this morning, Lough Derg RNLI found two people, who had set out from Portumna, Co Galway, for Mountshannon, Co Clare, that had not arrived at their destination. In a statement, the RNLI said it was “moonless, starless night” and the volunteers used “local knowledge and all their electronic equipment” to navigate in the dark. Just before 2am, volunteers monitoring radar detected an object in the water, and a “fleeting white outline” was spotted in the dark.
Titanic tourist submarine
Officials are searching for a civilian submersible that had five people on board after it went missing on Sunday in the North Atlantic while voyaging to the wreckage of the Titanic. The 21-foot vessel has four days of emergency capability.
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