5 Things you need to know today

1. Dozens killed killed as terrorist explosions rock Istanbul airport

A total of 36 people were killed and 150 more wounded in Tuesday's attack on Istanbul's main international airport, broadcaster HaberTurk said, citing minister for justice Bekir Bozdag. Three suicide bombers opened fire before blowing themselves up in the main international airport in Istanbul on Tuesday, the provincial governor and witnesses said. Police exchanged fire with two people at the entrance to the international terminal building and a Turkish official said one of the attackers opened fire with a Kalashnikov before they blew themselves up. Gunfire was also heard in a nearby car park. Private Turkish television networks broadcast footage of lines of ambulances attempting to enter the airport, which was closed within hours of the attack.

2. UK wants single market, action on immigration

British prime minister David Cameron has told EU leaders that immigration was the main reason why voters rejected the European Union. In what is likely to be his final summit, Mr Cameron told his fellow EU leaders over dinner that, although the UK wanted to retain access to the single market, concerns about immigration needed to be addressed. His comments – which signalled the challenges faced by the UK and the EU as they strive to reach a new agreement – came amid signs of increasing divisions across the EU about how much leeway to give the UK. German chancellor Angela Merkel said the evening talks were "deep and intensive" but she didn't see a way of avoiding a British exit from the EU. "I don't see a way to turn this around," she said. "This is not the hour for wishful thinking but to look reality in the eye."

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3. Verdict in Ibrahim Halawa trial expected today

A verdict is expected today in the trial of Ibrahim Halawa, whose detention inEgypt for almost three years has drawn international condemnation. Mr Halawa (20), an Irish citizen, has been in prison since August 2013, when he was arrested at the Fateh mosque in Cairo during protests against the ousting of then-president Mohamed Morsi. He and 493 others have been put on mass trial, but the proceedings have been adjourned 13 times to date, and no evidence has been heard in the case. About 80 of the defendants have been tried in absentia. At the most recent adjournment, in March, the court indicated that verdicts and sentences would be handed down this month. That has raised hopes that, barring another adjournment, the protracted legal process could conclude when the trial resumes today.

4. Demand builds for construction graduates

No sector fell further or faster during the economic downturn. Today, thanks to a growing economy, the construction industry faces a much different dilemma: how to address a looming skills shortage. School-leavers fled from any courses linked to the sector - which of course bore the brunt of the economic collapse. Now, policymakers and professional organisations are desperate to encourage Leaving Cert students to consider a career in construction or engineering ahead of this Friday's deadline for CAO applications. Universities, colleges and further education courses are not producing anywhere near enough engineers, quantity surveyors or tradespeople to meet demand, according to industry professionals. Take civil and environmental engineering. The sector had more than 600 graduates in 2014. Next year, it's anticipated there will be fewer than 40.

5. Fear and loathing mark England’s exit from Euros

It was going to take something special for the England football team to recapture the headlines from England's other big European exit but on a historic night in Nice, Roy Hodgson and his players delivered. Maybe more of us should have seen the failure coming. England had struggled to score against mediocre teams like Russia and Slovakia, and barely beat a Welsh team who seemed intimidated by the occasion. In Saint-Etienne after the 0-0 against Slovakia, Roy Hodgson had been irritated by questions about his team's apparent inability to score, and predicted some team soon was going to take a battering. Instead it was England who went down to their greatest humiliation in decades. The criticism of the England players was predictably harsh. The Times awarded every player a mark of zero. The fans sang that they weren't fit to wear the shirt. They were a disgrace, an embarrassment to the country, and so on. As usual, most of the criticism takes the form of moral judgments. England's failings are moral failings. They lost to Iceland because they lack character. The players are cowardly, greedy degenerates who only care about their clubs and sponsors and don't understand what it means to wear the Three Lions, and so on.