Coveney – no credible backstop alternative
The Tánaiste has said no credible backstop alternative has yet been proposed by the British government.
Simon Coveney's comments come as Boris Johnson promised a renewed effort to secure a deal with the EU before the Brexit deadline.
The UK's negotiators will now meet their EU counterparts twice a week for the whole of September.
He claimed he has been "encouraged" by the reaction from EU leaders, and said it was "now time for both sides to step up the tempo".
Pence to arrive in Ireland early
The US Vice President will arrive in Ireland earlier than planned next week.
Mike Pence was due to meet the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Friday – but the visit has been brought forward and the pair will now meet on Tuesday.
Mr Pence is arriving in Europe earlier than expected because he has been drafted in to replace President Donald Trump on a state visit to Poland.
The president cancelled the visit in order to monitor the impact of Hurricane Dorian, which is set to hit Florida in the coming days.
Five farmers agree to comply with High Court injunction
Five beef farmers have agreed to comply with a High Court injunction stopping them blockading meat processing plants.
The farmers can continue to stage peaceful demonstrations outside Slaney Foods in Co Wexford, but cannot blockade trucks moving in or out of the site.
Injunctions relating to farmers protesting outside Dawn Meats and ABP plants have now been made permanent.
Irish Farmers Association President Joe Healy says the farmers just want a better price for their cattle.
Nearly 70 workers to lose job at Monaghan dairy
Nearly 70 jobs are to be lost at a county Monaghan dairy.
The redundancies at the LacPatrick site come after the company merged with Lakeland Dairies in April of this year.
The company said the Monaghan site, which was owned by LacPatrick, had seen “little or no investment in processing capabilities” before the merger and was dealing with significant losses.
It said that following a review process, the board has signed off on a plan to make 68 of the 130 at the site redundant, while others will be redeployed.
Two prominent pro-democracy activists released on bail in Hong Kong
Two prominent pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have been released on bail following their arrests earlier today.
Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, both members of the pro-democracy group Demosisto, had been detained earlier on Friday.
Speaking after her release, Ms Chow accused authorities of attempting to scare residents from taking part in protests.
She said: "We Hong Kong people won't give up and won't be scared.
