LAST UPDATE | 6 Jan 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

1. Unexplained death

Gardaí are investigating the death of a man in unexplained circumstances after his body was discovered at the foot of a stairwell in an apartment in Mallow, Co Cork, shortly after 7pm yesterday. 

Gardaí and emergency services arrived at the apartment after they were alerted. The man, in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

2. Bus fire

15 Passengers on a Bus Éireann Expressway coach were evacuated after it caught fire in Co Donegal yesterday evening.

The incident occurred at the Dry Arch Roundabout in Letterkenny at around 8.30pm yesterday, when the coach was travelling from Letterkenny to Dublin.  

3. Cariban

The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has voiced its disappointment at the roll out of a new scheme to reimburse women with the cost of a drug that to help with severe sickness during pregnancy – and have called for a re-think of the amount of red tape involved.  

The drug, known as Cariban, was previously unavailable on the drugs payment scheme or medical card.

4. Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to run during Orthodox Christmas, a move that war-battered Kyiv swiftly branded as “hypocrisy”.

Putin’s directive to his troops was announced days after Moscow suffered its deadliest reported loss of the invasion, and following 11 months of brutal combat.

5. Hit and Run

Gardaí are appealing for information following a hit and run incident in Co Meath that left a cyclist in his 70s seriously injured. 

A vehicle collided with the cyclist on the Kilcloone to Maynooth road on Thursday, 8 December, at around 1.20 pm. 

6. US Politics

The House of Representatives plunged deeper into crisis in the US as Republican favorite Kevin McCarthy failed again to win the speakership – entrenching a three-day standoff that has paralyzed the lower chamber of Congress.

McCarthy, a favorite of his party’s establishment but disliked by the far right, has made sweeping concessions to quell a rebellion of around 20 hardliners blocking his bid to be the country’s top lawmaker.

7. Climate Change

More than three-quarters of Earth’s glaciers may be gone by the end of the century if investment in fossil fuels continues and global temperatures rise by 4C, scientists have warned.

The researchers said that, even in a best-case scenario – where the increase in global mean temperature is limited to 1.5C relative to pre-industrial levels – around half of the planet’s glaciers will disappear.

8. Overcrowding

Ambulances in the Midwest will be able to bring patients “directly” to Ennis Hospital instead of them waiting on a trolley at University Hospital Limerick as part of plans to ease record breaking overcrowding at UHL’s emergency department.

In a note sent to staff in the region today, Hospital Group management said “patients can be transported directly to the Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis Hospital”, with the change taking effect from Monday.

9. Lost in Translation

Tesco has removed an incorrect sign in Irish in its new store in Headford, Galway, after a shopper complained about the matter online.

The sign reads ‘Díbholaígh do Mhna’ under ‘Domestic Appliances.’