Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you really need to know with your morning coffee.
1. #BRRR: Dublin airport has reopened this morning; it’s been closed since yesterday afternoon. The first plane was expected to take off shortly after 7am – the airport has warned that it’s concentrating on departures, but that some arrivals are due in from the US. Some people hoping to travel to European destinations have now been stuck at the airport four days, RTÉ’s Morning Ireland reports. Road conditions are still treacherous, with ice and freezing fog making conditions worse, and more snow showers are expected today, although not as heavy as yesterday. Airports in Britain have finally begun tackling the backlog of flights, it’s reported this morning.
2. #MOBILE PHONES: A coroner has warned about the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving, after a 33-year-old man, Paul Gerard Monks, died when his car veered off the road and hit a tree as he was talking to his brother on the phone. He was not using a hands-free kit, he was not wearing a seatbelt and the driver’s airbag did not deploy.
3. #DEVELOPERS’ WIVES: The Mail reports that developers who transferred assets to their wives before the establishment of NAMA will almost certainly escape measures designed to force them to hand them back. The Examiner adds that the majority of the top 30 developers going into NAMA have transferred assets to other family members.
4. #PADDY KELLY: Property developer Paddy Kelly has had his BMW seized for the second time over a debt he owes ACC Bank, the Irish Times reports. The sheriff used an article found in the International Herald Tribune in 2004 to prove he was the car’s beneficial owner, despite his claims that his wife gave it to him. “What does it matter? It’s Christmas. They can have it. I love walking,” he said. He added that since he was 66, he would apply for the state’s free travel pass. He didn’t add whether he had a horse outside.
5. #HORSES OUTSIDE: ..and on that note: “Horses that are such an enduring part of Irish culture are paying a price, too” – the New York Times reports on the thousands of horses which have been abandoned in Ireland in the recession.
6. #TOILET TALK: The Independent reports that Michael Lowry boasted to constituents that he had secured funding for a school toilet – on the day the Budget passed into law.
7. #BLATHNAID: Gardaí have renewed their appeal for the taxi driver who picked up missing KPMG executive Blathnaid Timothy to contact them.
8. #CUPLA FOCAL: The Taoiseach Brian Cowen has unveiled details of a plan that could turn 83,000 into 250,000 – unfortunately, it’s only concerned with the number of daily Irish speakers.
9. #KOREA: The Korean peninsula is once again at loggerheads – over a Christmas tree. North Korea’s military is reportedly preparing to shoot down a floodlit tower decorated in Christmas lights, which overlooks the border north of the South’s capital Seoul, which is home to millions of Christians.
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