EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #TROIKA: It’s that time again as the Troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund arrive in Ireland today to conduct their fifth review of the country’s bailout programme. On the agenda is likely to be the country’s negative growth in the last quarter and stagnant unemployment. It all comes as one Irish economist today said the country should be “praying” for a second bailout.
2. #PRIORY HALL: Dublin City Councillors unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Taoiseach and Environment Minister to meet with with residents of Priory Hall, the apartment block that has been evacuated over safety fears leaving 250 residents in temporary accommodation. The case is currently before the courts leading Environment Minister Phil Hogan to say he cannot meet with residents but some councillors have queried this, RTÉ reports.
3. #UNDERAGE DRINKING: A third of pubs that were targeted by authorities have been caught selling alcohol to children, the Irish Examiner reports. The outlets could now face prosecution and possible closure orders or fines. The crackdown on some 119 premises in the year to October 2011 came after the government introduced a scheme which enabled gardaí to use children in undercover operations.
4. #GAY MARRIAGE: Pope Benedict has said that gay marriage is one of several threats to the traditional family which he believes undermines “the future of humanity itself”, Reuters reports. The comments, said to be his strongest yet against gay marriage, were made in a New Year address to diplomatic corps who were accredited at the Vatican yesterday.
5. #KIMMAGE: The man arrested in connection with the stabbing of a pensioner at a retirement flat in Kimmage, south Dublin on Saturday has been released without charge by gardaí and a file has been sent to the DPP. Investigations into the death of Edward Boylan, 74, are continuing, gardaí say.
6. #HEART FAILURE: Just one in seven people in Ireland can correctly identify the symptoms of heart failure according to a poll carried out for the Irish Heart Foundation. More than 90,000 in Ireland are living with heart failure and the IHF says it is vital that people understand how deadly it can be if left untreated.
7. #US 2012: Republican party candidates running for the US presidency are gearing up for the first primary vote of Election 2012 in New Hampshire. Voters in the tiny village of Dixville Notch have already cast their vote with poll favourite Mitt Romney and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman tied with two votes each. In every Republican primary vote since 1968, the villagers have successfully predicted the nominee.
8. #PLASTIC PADDIES: Controversial footballer Joey Barton has launched a stinging attack on former Irish international Matt Holland and others who declare for the Boys in Green claiming he values his one cap for England over the many more he may have got if he had declared for another country. “If ur English, u play for England. If ur English and sh*t, u pretend ur Irish grand parentage matters to u and play for Ireland!,” he said on Twitter.
9.#WORRALL WOES: Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, who was arrested for shoplifting low value items from a local Tesco in Oxfordshire, has given a “searing and often soul-searching interview” to the Daily Express. The 60-year-old said his actions were “ridiculous and stupid” and said he had been under an “incredible stress” in recent times but added: “I do feel that I have to take responsibility for this.”
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