LAST UPDATE | 22 Aug 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Bereavement leave

1. In our lead story this morning, political correspondent Christina Finn details how bereavement leave could be legislated for and be paid out of the Social Insurance Fund.

Currently, employees may be able to take compassionate leave if a close member of their family dies, but it is not set down in law, can depend on your employment contract and is at the employer’s discretion.

However, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that it may be something the Government addresses in the future.

Afghanistan

2. A year on from the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan, reporter Céimin Burke speaks to a family of four who fled Kabul and ended up settling in Ireland.

Royal Canal

3. The body of a man was taken from the Royal Canal yesterday afternoon.

The discovery was made at approximately 12.30pm yesterday, with Gardaí saying that they are examining all the circumstances surrounding the discovery.

Imran Khan

4. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has been charged with terrorism offences.

The charges come after the former PM gave a speech where he vowed to sue police officers and a female judge, after alleging that a close aide had been tortured after his arrest.

New Zealand

5. Police in South Korea have located a woman who is believed to be related to two children whose remains were found in suitcases in New Zealand.

The woman is of Korean descent and has been in South Korea since 2018.

Robert Troy

6. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he is satisfied junior minister Robert Troy has “cleared the air” in resolving errors by declaring his interests to the Dáil.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion has been forced to correct the Dáil’s register of declarations of interest after he failed to include several properties.

Michael Collins

7. The death of Michael Collins, 100 years ago, has given rise to arguably the greatest “what if” in Irish history.

When he died, Collins was Minister for Finance in the newly established Irish Free State, and Commander-in-Chief of the Free State army, making him one of the most pivotal figures in the struggle for independence.

It’s often suggested – particularly by critics of various Free State policies in the following decades – that Ireland would have been a very different place had Collins lived.

Weather

8. It’s set to be a cloudy day today, with some rain expected mostly in the north and east of the country.

Temperatures are expected to be between 17 and 22 degrees, with it set to be warmest in the southeast.

This England

9. Sky has released a teaser trailer for its new six-episode series based on Boris Johnson’s tumultuous first months as British Prime Minister.

‘This England’, in which Kenneth Branagh plays the controversial Tory Prime Minister, traces the impact on the country of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.