LAST UPDATE | 20 Jan 2022

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.

Ashling Murphy

1. A 31-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Ashling Murphy.

Jozef Puska (31), with an address in Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Offaly, was brought before a special sitting of Tullamore District Court yesterday evening.

He was remanded to custody at Cloverhill District Court until 26 January. There was no reply when he was charged, Garreth MacNamee reports from Tullamore.

Gender equality

2. Just one in five people in Ireland believe women are treated equally in the home, according to the results of a new poll.

Respondents to polling by The Good Information Project/Ireland Thinks on 7 January were asked whether men and women were treated equally in Ireland in a number of settings, Michelle Hennessy writes in today’s lead story.

More than half said they believed there is equality in access to healthcare, but just 22.6% believe men and women are treated equally in the home and 22.8% believe they are treated equally in politics. Just 13% of women polled think women are treated equally in the home.

NPHET meeting

3. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is set to meet this afternoon to discuss the possible easing of Covid-19 measures.

It’s believed that health officials could examine the end of the 8pm hospitality curfew and a partial return to the office.

While it had been expected that Cabinet would not make a decision on easing restrictions until next week, government sources have said that a Friday Cabinet meeting is “not out of the question” in response to whatever recommendations NPHET issues.

Northern Ireland

4. Stormont ministers are set to consider relaxations to Covid-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland.

They will be informed by the latest Department of Health data which indicates Northern Ireland is likely at the peak of cases in the Omicron surge.

A paper, seen by the PA news agency, advises that case numbers fell substantially in the last week “primarily due” to reduced PCR tests due to a change in testing policy.

But it notes the region is “likely to be at or around peak in terms of case numbers for the Omicron wave at present”.

BoJo

5. Boris Johnson is battling on after a senior Tory demanded “in the name of God, go” and a Conservative MP defected to Labour over allegations of rule-breaking parties in Downing Street.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis called for the British Prime Minister’s resignation in a Commons intervention on Wednesday before later warning the party faces “dying a death of 1,000 cuts” if they do not act swiftly to oust him.

Ukraine

6. US President Joe Biden said he believes Vladimir Putin does not want full blown war in Ukraine, and would pay a “dear price” if he moves forward with a military incursion.

Biden, speaking at a news conference to mark his one-year anniversary in office, also said he believes that Russia is preparing to take action on Ukraine, though he does not think Putin has made a final decision.

He suggested that he would limit Russia’s access to the international banking system if it did further invade Ukraine.

Capitol insurrection

7. The US Supreme Court has allowed the release of presidential documents sought by the congressional committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.

The justices have rejected a bid by former president Donald Trump to withhold the documents from the committee until the issue is finally resolved by the courts. Trump’s lawyers had hoped to prolong the court fight and keep the documents on hold.

Following the court’s action, there is no legal impediment to turning over the documents, which are held by the National Archives and Records Administration. They include presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes dealing with 6 January from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Morning Memo

8. Published yesterday, consumer price data for December showed inflation continued to accelerate last month despite the impact of Covid restrictions in the lead-up to Christmas.

This isn’t particularly surprising but it does present more than a few problems, Ian Curran writes in today’s Morning Memo.

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Forecast

9. And finally, the weather.

This morning will be bright, cold and frosty in many places along with a few showers in parts of the northeast, according to Met Éireann.

The frost will clear to leave a mostly dry day with good sunny spells. Cloud will gradually spread from the northwest through the day with some drizzle expected. Highest temperatures will range from six to nine degrees Celsius.