Every afternoon, TheJournal.ie brings you 5 things you need to know by 5 o’clock.
1. #HEALTH: VHI has confirmed an increase of up to 45% in the premiums for domestic customers, with the average fees for the insurer’s most popular family care plan increasing by €331 a year. The new rates take effect next month, with chief executive Jimmy Tolan blaming attributing the hikes to a 10% increase in the volume of healthcare its customers would require in 2011.
2. #LIVE REGISTER: The number of people signing on increased in December for the first time in four months, according to new statistics from the CSO. 5,200 extra people signed on in December, with all but 400 of those men. The new figures put the unemployment rate at 13.4%, up from 13.2% last month, with the number of claimants seeking jobseeker’s benefit up by over 5%.
3. #STAR SUNDAY: The publishers of the Irish Daily Star Sunday newspaper have announced that the newspaper is to cease production immediately, with the loss of 17 full-time roles as well as a significant number of other freelance positions. Staff have expressed their surprise at the decision, with one describing it as a “rash decision”.
4. #MEATH: Two men remain in Garda custody in Trim and Navan in connection with the late-night stabbing of a 25-year-old man at his home in Co Meath. The man was stabbed shortly after 1am at Rathmolyon, between Trim and Enfield, in Co Meath. Local sources believe the deceased man, who has yet to be named, is from overseas.
5. #WIKILEAKS: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed personal ownership of the US embassy diplomatic cables, and threatened to sue the Guardian when it prepared to publish them without his apparent consent, it has been reported. A Vanity Fair article claims that the Guardian was sent the final tranche of leaked documents by a frustrated WikiLeaks volunteer without the permission of Assange, and that the Australian-born activist was prepared to launch legal action to stop the Guardian publishing his property, in early November.
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