EVERY MORNING TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning coffee.
1. #AS LÁTHAIR: Absenteeism costs Irish businesses about €1.5 billion a year, according to new findings published today by business group IBEC. However – despite 11 million days being lost annually due to unplanned time off – Irish employees are reportedly getting better at presenting themselves at work since the economic downturn.
2. #MORTGAGE RELIEF: The ongoing debate surrounding mortgage relief may have split opinion within the Labour party, with ministers offering differing lines on the much talked about topic yesterday. The party has denied members are at odds over the issue.
3.#LIFFEY: A man has died after falling into the river Liffey in Dublin city centre last night. The victim was one of two men who entered the river separately late yesterday evening; the two incidents are believed to be unrelated.
4. #STUDENT SLEEPOUT: The Union of Students in Ireland has organised a sleepout outside the Department of the Environment from 5.15pm today as part of a protest to secure a deposit protection scheme for tenants.
5. #ARSON ATTACK: Another fire has occurred in Buncrana, Donegal, adding to fears that there is a group of arsonists at work in the area. It is the 11th such attack in the area recently.
6. #CYCLING: The government has been asked to halt plans to build €4m worth of cycle and walk lanes around the country- by Ireland’s national cycling lobby group. Cyclist.ie says lanes which already exist, especially in cities, have proven to be “a poor use of public money” as they are not properly maintained.
7. #APPLE: Steve Jobs, the co-founder of electronics and software giant has stepped down as chief executive permanently and with immediate effect; Jobs has been on medical leave since January. Shares in the corporation tumbled in after-hours trading following his resignation.
8. #LIBYA: Battles continue in the Libyan capital Tripoli today as rebel try to consolidate the gains they have made in recent days – although there is still no sign of embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi. Meanwhile, four Italian journalists have been kidnapped, and their driver killed, by suspected regime loyalists.
The UN is today attempting to unfreeze $1.5 billion in assets for humanitarian needs in Libya.
9. #SAY WHAT? You may not like it, but it seems like abbreviations like “OMG” and “BFF” are here to stay – for a while at least. The new edition of the Chambers Dictionary has accepted these new terms, along with more curious words like “labradoodle” and “jeggings”.
New entries also betray the straitened economic times we live in – with ‘toxic assets”, ”double-dip” and ”overleveraged” all being approved, reports the Telegraph.
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