EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee, or tea…
1. #TSUNAMI: Hawaii is under tsunami alert this morning after a major earthquake struck just off the coast of Canada. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred just after 3am Irish time, and the first waves were due to hit Hawaii’s islands within the last few minutes.
2. #SOCIAL CHARGE: Labour ministers are said to be in favour of proposals to introduce a new Universal Social Charge rate of 10 per cent for anyone earning over €100,000 a year. The Sunday Times says the idea was floated at a Labour parliamentary party meeting and seems to enjoy firm support from Fine Gael as well.
3. #BUDGET 2013: With the government’s thoughts now moving toward exiting the bailout programme, this December’s Budget could see ministers plot Ireland’s medium-term financial future at a public level. The Sunday Business Post says the government is considering announcing a three-year programme of spending cuts and tax increases in December, supposedly to try and courage greater public confidence in Ireland’s financial future.
4. #BACK OFF: The Sunday Independent reports that the justice minister Alan Shatter had to tell Taoiseach Enda Kenny that it was “entirely improper” for him to question the current state of a court case involving a constituent’s marriage breakdown. Kenny twice wrote to Shatter, on behalf of a constituent, asking him for an update on a sensitive court case.
5. #LIBEL: James Reilly’s woes aren’t over either. The Sunday Business Post tells us that the Minister for Health is being sued by a medical consultant for defamation, over the comments he made about the mortality rates at Roscommon Hospital’s emergency ward during the debate about shutting it down.
6. #FRANKENSTORM: The presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both become a little more frenetic after being forced to cancel some events on the east coast ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. The storm is likely to make landfall in New York and New Jersey on Monday evening, and could become the biggest storm ever to hit the US mainland.
7. #OPERATION YEWTREE: The police operation investigating the abuse claims against TV host Jimmy Savile has taken a surprising twist this morning – when former glam rock star Gary Glitter was arrested on suspicion of sex offences. Glitter – real name Paul Gadd – was taken into police custody by officers from ‘Operation Yewtree’ this morning. Gadd has previously been convicted of child sex offences in Vietnam.
8. #BRONZE AGE: You probably thought archaeologists had discovered everything there was to know about the Hill of Tara – but one academic is reported to have found a previously unknown hill fort at the site… on Google Earth. The Sunday Times says UCD’s Aidan O’Sullivan spotted a previously unobserved fort while preparing a presentation in his office.
9. #WINTER TIME: And in case you thought this 9 at 9 was arriving a little on the late side – it’s okay. Summer Time ended at 2am this morning, when the clocks went back an hour.
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