EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning coffee…
1. #EU: Michael Noonan is expect to brief other EU finance ministers in Copenhagen today on the deal to defer a €3.1billion promissory note payment announced yesterday. The ministers are meeting in Copenhagen to decide on the scale of the EU’s last-resort bailout fund.
2. #BOMB: An improvised explosive device was discovered last night on Dunsink Lane in Finglas, north Dublin. RTÉ reports that army bomb disposal specialists destroyed the device in a controlled explosion.
3. #HOUSEHOLD CHARGE: More than half a million people have now paid the household charge with just two days left before the deadline. Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty has this morning called for the “unfair” charge to be scrapped, while Phil Hogan’s been checking his mail…
4. #APPLE: An independent investigation into Apple’s Chinese manufacturing facilities has found “serious and pressing concerns” over working practices at controversial supplier Foxconn, where workplace accidents have previously hit headlines, the Guardian reports.
5. #FIANNA FÁIL: Trustees of Bertie Ahern’s notorious St Luke’s base have said they are willing to hand over control of the property ahead of a landmark Fianna Fáil party meeting tonight, the Irish Times reports. There will be no expulsions at the meeting, as six party members have already resigned over the findings of the Mahon Tribunal.
6. #BLACKBERRY: BlackBerry manufacturer RIM has effectively admitted defeat to iPhone and Android in the smartphone market it once dominated. The company will now focus solely on business customers instead of everyday consumers, the Associated Press reports.
7. #AIB: AIB has reported a €2.3billion loss after tax in its results for last year. The figure is down substantially from a €10.2billion loss in 2010, and chief executive David Duffy said the bank hopes to “return to sustainable profitability by 2014.”
8. #LOCALS: Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae has complained to transport minister Leo Varadkar that money is being wasted on road signs in rural areas – as all local residents already know their way around, the Irish Independent reports. Varadkar told Healy-Rae that the signs are actually for visitors.
9. #MORNING: If you’re anything like us, getting out of bed today was a bit of a struggle. But at least you’re not alone – this Great Dane, filmed waking up from a nap, knows exactly how you feel. (And she had slippery floors to deal with too.) Happy Friday!
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