The Irish Times reports that several Ryanair trade unions say they will resist an attempt to cut pay and conditions for a five-year period, citing management promises of a swift recovery from the coronavirus crisis and the fact its chief executive has committed to a pay cut for just one year.

Over in Aer Lingus, all passengers flying with the airline will be required to wear a mask or suitable face covering from today. While findings from a National Bus and Rail Union study carried out earlier this week found that fewer than 1% of commuters on Monday were wearing face masks.

A taskforce has been established to help tourism recover from the affects of Covid-19. A member of the group has said that the two metre social distancing rule may prevent hotels reopening, while the rate of VAT is high on their agenda.

Tom McDonnell of NERI has said that Paschal Donohoe is running up against “the hypocrisy” of the weekly unemployment payment of €350 and the much lower €203 payment. He claimed that the government has effectively admit that the benchmark €203 payment a week for the regular unemployed wasn't sufficient for people to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of consumers believe that the return of austerity is inevitable as a result of the pandemic. Some 86% of those surveyed said they expect the Irish government to re-introduce cutbacks on public spending along with tax increases, despite Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's efforts to 'downplay' these possibilities. 

Mary Reagan reports that parents might have to wait in their cars, or at a designated point, while a childcare professional collects their child and brings them into a crèche, under plans being examined by the Government. Preliminary guidance appears to also point towards childcare operating in "pods".

The publishers of three Belfast-based newspapers and the National Union of Journalists have joined together to stand up for journalists and press freedom in Northern Ireland. Read more about that here.

In bizarre international (and intergalactic) news, scientists at NASA have reportedly uncovered evidence of a parallel universe where the rules of physics and time appear to be operating in reverse.

And finally, today's zen features nine basking sharks filmed swimming off Achill Island, with one believed to be up to nine metres (30 feet) in length. Basking sharks are the world's second-largest fish (after the whale shark), and can be seen feeding off the Irish coast from April to August. They were once heavily fished here and are an endangered species, which adds a resonance to their return.