EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #BANK GUARANTEE: More than 140 documents relating to the bank guarantee in 2008 are being kept in the Department of the Taoiseach – although most of them cannot be released because of government confidentiality. The existence of the documents was revealed through a Freedom of Information request by Fianna Fáil to counter suggestions by the current government that there is no record of what happened in the run-up to the controversial bank guarantee.
2. #ABORTION: Fine Gael TD Michelle Mulherin has said she has serious concerns about the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 which is due to be voted on this Wednesday. In an interview on RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland, the Mayo TD said that changes made to the bill so far are “window dressing”.
3. #RUNAWAY TRAIN: Forty people are still missing after a cargo train carrying 72 carloads of crude oil derailed in a Canadian town, killing at least five people. The derailment sparked a massive blaze which took more than a day to extinguish. Rescue workers are continuing to search for victims.
4. #PLANE CRASH: Investigators are trying to find out what caused the crash of the Asiana Airlines flight which left two teenagers dead and two more passengers paralysed in San Francisco. The Boeing 777 was trying to abort its landing when it fell short of the runway on Saturday and crashed.
5. #POCKET MONEY: Finance ministers from across the eurozone will meet in Brussels today to discuss whether to release the next tranche of rescue funds to embattled Greece, which has received a total of €240 billion since 2010 so far.
6. #EGYPT: At least 34 supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi have died in a shooting in Cairo as unrest increases after the military took over the running of the country. The BBC reports that his supporters had been staging a sit-in at the building where Morsi is believed to be held under house arrest when the shooting happened.
7. #ANGLO TAPES: In the latest batch of Anglo tapes released by the Irish Independent, executives at the former bank can be heard discussing how the Financial Regulator has asked whether market abuse took place at the doomed institution. Former CEO David Drumm is also heard saying that the Central Bank and the NTMA were treating Anglo like a ‘f**king bucket shop’.
8. #BUDGET 2014: A group representing employers has said the government should drop any planned tax hikes in this year’s budget and focus on growing the economy and reducing public expenditure. IBEC said the coalition should use Budget 2014 to signal that the end of austerity is in sight.
9. #LET IT SHINE: And finally, some good news to start the week: the sunshine is going to last until at least Sunday, with temperatures set to soar to 27 degrees in some parts of the country today. Make sure to get out there and enjoy it at some stage (and send us any good pics of the good weather to tips@thejournal.ie).
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