5 stories you need to know today

Here’s what you need to know on Thursday morning

Inisheer is one of several islands hosting cultural happenings this summer. Photograph: Chris Hill
Inisheer is one of several islands hosting cultural happenings this summer. Photograph: Chris Hill

1. EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo disappears with 66 on board

An EgyptAir passenger jet travelling to Cairo from Paris with 66 people on board disappeared over the Mediterranean early Thursday, the airline said on its Twitter account. Flight MS804, an Airbus A320 jet, lost contact with radar systems over Greece at 2.45 am Cairo time, 80 miles before it was scheduled to enter Egyptian airspace, EgyptAir said. It had taken off from Paris three hours and 40 minutes earlier. The airline said the plane had been travelling at an altitude of 37,000 feet and was carrying 56 passengers, including three children. Three security personnel and seven crew members were also on board.

2. TCD to investigate after professor criticises students’ answers

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is to begin an inquiry after an associate professor's comments criticising students' exam answers appeared on his Facebook page. Dr Clemens Ruthner who works at the department of Germanic studies said he deeply regrets the Facebook posts. Replying to a request for comment by The Irish Times, Dr Ruthner said his privacy settings were accidentally set to public, and he never meant to share his posts publicly. "I only meant to share some exam answers with some friends who are in the teaching profession as well, out of a certain frustration while grading exams, asking for their opinion.  Dr Ruthner, who has twice been nominated for the Provost's Teaching Award, said the post was not meant to "hurt anybody's feelings" or to "mock" the students.

3. Schools may be forced to close due to reduced funding

Schools will be "obliged to close" because of reduced funding, according to documents prepared for the new Minister for Education Richard Bruton. Mr Bruton's briefing documents, published last night, say the adequacy of capitation funding for schools, intended to cover day-to day-running costs, is now a "critical issue". Department of Education officials say that, in the short-term, the funding shortfall is "potentially more risky than having large class sizes. "The current reduced funding levels for all schools create a risk that some schools may not be able to cover critical costs – the absence of which could trigger school closure," the documents say.

Five Leaving Cert students suspended over water fight: The pupils at fee-paying High School in south Dublin are due to sit exams in two weeks

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4. Garda Commissioner to be questioned by Policing Authority

The Policing Authority will question the Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan on the contents of the O'Higgins report when it meets next Thursday.  There is understood to be very significant concern in the authority about matters raised in the report. Members are likely to question the commissioner about management and other failures, the service provided to victims of crime and changes made to Garda management practices to prevent similar failures. The fear of unknown consequences is what is behind the pained attempts by Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald to create just a bit of distance between herself and Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan in recent days. The reputation of the Garda at stake in O'Higgins report, writes Colm Kenny, and invites many questions about how the force goes about its business.

Miriam Lord:  Fitzgerald dodges the question like a true Tánaiste

5. Dublin’s Ha’penny Bridge reaches its 200th birthday

They have been crossing it free of charge for a whole century now, but Dubliners have a long memory. So, although it was first named in honour of the Duke of Wellington and later rechristened Liffey Bridge, one of the city's favourite postcard images will turn 200 this week still known universally by the name that trumped the others: Ha'penny Bridge. A ha'penny was the toll – each way – that one William Walsh was allowed to charge for 100 years after his bridge replaced an old ferry crossing in May 1816. And modest as it sounds, it was sometimes controversial.

Misc

There isn't a single app on my tablet or phone that I don't resent or mistrust: Annoying and sneaky apps deliberately lie to you

Island culture: events worth getting on the boat for: The Drop Everything cultural biennial will soon take over Inisheer with art, music, and a specially built sauna

Cannes bidding war hots up for Martin Scorcese's 'The Irishman': Film-maker to reprise relationship with De Niro and direct for first time . . . Al Pacino

Arab civilians suffer long struggle for self-determination: Expert says talk of dictators and jihadists overlooks the people's rights

Clinton, Sanders in final stretch of nominating contest: Clinton narrowly edges out Sanders in Kentucky, while Sanders wins Oregon

Netanyahu offers Israeli cabinet post to Lieberman: Binyamin Netanyahu met yesterday with far-right politician Avigdor Lieberman in an effort to recruit him into Israel's government

Ken Early: Liverpool outplayed as last chance of glory slips away: Jürgen Klopp's side fail to impose themselves on game as Sevilla refuse to be bullied

Moving back to Ireland was as hard as emigrating to Australia:  Dublin has changed a lot since the recession and it is an exciting time to be back