EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you begin your day.
1. #THINK-INS: The two main opposition parties are to hold their annual ‘think-in’ events in Dublin today ahead of the return of the Dáil from its summer recess tomorrow. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin will meet in Dublin to discuss their political agendas for the coming term, which is due to be dominated by the referendum on children’s rights and the 2013 Budget.
2. #HEALTH TALKS: Industrial negotiations at the Labour Relations Commission between the government, the health service, doctors and consultants continued until nearly 8am this morning – after kicking off early on Sunday. It is believed the parties have agreed to resolutions tabled by the Labour Relations Commission itself in order to resolve a number of conflicts regarding pay and rosters.
3. #TULLAMORE: A 55-year-old woman remains in intensive care in Midland Regional Hospital today, after she was discovered unconscious near the body of an 11-year-old girl at a house in Tullamore yesterday. Results of a post mortem examination on the deceased proved inconclusive and investigators are now awaiting the results of a toxicology report. Gardaí say they wish to speak with the woman, when possible, but that are not looking to speak to anyone else in connection with the death at this time.
4. #TROUBLES: The Northern Assembly will today debate a motion calling on the Irish government to apologise for the country’s role in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. If passed, the motion would see MLAs at Stormont call on Dublin to apologise for “the lack of support for the investigation of terrorist suspects”, with particular reference to the ongoing Smithwick Tribunal, which is investigating alleged collusion between the IRA and the Gardaí in the murder of two RUC officers in 1989.
5. #ROADS: Motorists in Dublin have been warned that the junction at Drumcondra and Griffith Avenue in Dublin is blocked in all directions this morning after a serious crash involving a motorcyclist and another vehicle at about 6.45 am. Diversions are now in place but drivers have been advised to expect delays.
6. #KATE MIDDLETON: Legal representatives for the British royal family will today begin criminal proceedings against French magazine Closer after the title published topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge, which were taken with a long lens while she holidayed in a private villa with her husband. Meanwhile, the Irish general secretaries of the National Union of Journalists have hit out at reports that the British co-owner of the Irish Daily Star is threatening to close the newspaper over its decision to publish the pictures – labelling any such move as “disproportionate”.
7. #BUSINESS: A new report published by IBEC and the Government today has outlined €12 billion of infrastructure opportunities available to Irish companies in Africa. The study – a joint venture of the Department and IBEC’S Irish Engineering Enterprises Federation (IEEF) – has identified more than 100 projects across various African countries for which Irish companies can bid over the next five years. Trade Minister Joe Costello said Irish companies are “very well placed” to meet the continent’s growing demand for goods and services.
8. #PROTESTS: The leader of the militant movement Hezbollah has called for further protests to take place in Lebanon in response to a film, produced in the US, which has been condemned as offensive to Islam. Sheikh Nasrallah has said Muslims should not be “silent in the face of this insult”, according to the BBC. Demonstrations against the film have been taking place in various Arab countries over the past week, and one person was reportedly killed in clashes between protesters and police in Pakistan yesterday.
9. #THREE-PARENT BABY: A fertility treatment that eliminates incurable genetic diseases by engineering foetuses that carry healthy DNA from a third biological parent could be legalised in the UK next year, after health secretary Jeremy Hunt today launched a public consultation on that matter, reports the Telegraph.
Experts have recognised that the procedure, which involves the modification of a human embryo, raises some serious ethical questions – but have also highlighted that it could potentially spare future generations from a range of debilitating conditions.
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