Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you really need to know by 9am.
1. #DEBT FORGIVENESS: Debt forgiveness has effectively been ruled out by government ministers. Eamon Gilmore said although “interim measures” would be introduced to ease the burden on struggling homeowners, there would be no substantial change in the law. The news comes following yesterday’s criticisms of the approach being taken by banks to people in arrears by the Master of the High Court, Ed Honohan. However, it’s not all bad news for homeowners in arrears – the Irish Times claims that changes in the bankruptcy laws to help people in difficulty with their mortgages will be published as soon as possible, the dept of Justice has confirmed. What do you think – should some form of debt forgiveness be included in the government’s plans?
2. #COURTS: Three men are due in court this morning in relation to dissident activities. Meanwhile, two other men – including an Al Qaeda sympathiser nicknamed Taliban Terry – are still being questioned by gardaí. One of the men threatened to kill Obama during his visit in a Sunday newspaper.
3. #GEE THANKS: NAMA has donated one of a dozen paintings from the collection owned by beleaguered financier Derek Quinlan to the National Gallery, the Irish Times reports. The Return from Market by John Lavery is valued at €300,000. Other paintings in the collection – which are not being donated to the state – include works by Andy Warhol, Jack B Yeats, Roderic O’Conor, and Paul Henry.
4. #UH-OH: Jobseekers have a better chance of finding work if they didn’t take part in the government-run National Employment Action Plan. A damning new study by the ESRI says participating in the NEAP programme reduces the likelihood of finding a job by 17 per cent, the Independent reports.
5. #PAKISTAN: At least 73 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack carried out by the Taliban in revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden.
6. #CHINA: Dozens of people have been injured in China following a petrol bomb on a bank, Xinhua reports. The government has described the attack as “arson” – it’s understood a sacked cashier was responsible.
7.#ALCOHOL POISONING: The family of Graham Parish are to take a civil case against the hotel he died in, after the barmen who served him were found not guilty yesterday, the Irish Independent reports. Meanwhile, Alan Shatter has ordered a review of the penalties which can be imposed on publicans who serve customers who are already drunk, the Irish Times adds.
8. #MADELEINE: Scotland Yard has been brought in to review the files on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, it’s reported today.
9. #CHILDBIRTH: We all know childbirth hurts. But actress Tilda Swinton has stoked controversy by claiming it’s a “truly, truly murderous expereince..it’s violent”. She claims that mothers are made to feel like failures if they don’t experience it as a glamourous and lovely experience, from which they emerge “sitting in a hospital bed with flowers everywhere, beautifully made up, they have a baby in their arms and it is all very lovely”, the Mail adds.
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