EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you kick off your day.

1. #POINTS: A new report on the penalty points system has found six senior gardaí continued to cancel the penalties, in breach of policy, RTÉ is reporting.

2. #SAUDI: Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has died in hospital. He became king in 2005, and has been described as a patient reformer who tried to rid Saudi of the influence of hardline Islamists.

3. #ATTACK A man has been arrested after a taxi driver was stabbed a number of times last night. The driver, aged in his 30s, was discovered with the wounds at around 2:45am at Littlepace Road, Dublin 15.

4. #IRISH WATER: The European Commission has raised serious concerns about whether Irish Water will be able to fund itself in the coming years, prompting concerns in Government, the Irish Independent reports.

5. #HOSPITAL: A review of the care of infants born at Portiuncula Hospital between February and November last year found that two of them died and five had evidence of oxygen deprivation during delivery.

6. #SHOOTING: A 2-year-old boy has died in Florida after shooting himself in the chest with his dad’s gun. The toddler managed to get the firearm out of the glove compartment when he was alone in the family car.

7. #THE LEADERSHIP: “Micheál Martin is doing a particular job in a particular way, I think it could be done differently”: We asked Fianna Fáil’s John McGuinness what he thought of the current leader’s performance.

8. #JOBS WATCH: Dublin-based firm Brite:Bill has confirmed 100 new jobs.

9. #POETRY: No animals were harmed in the making of this interview with Rick O’Shea.