LAST UPDATE | 23 Dec 2024

GOOD MORNING.

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

Eamon Ryan

1. The blow suffered by the Green Party in this election is not as damaging as the major setback it endured in 2011, former leader Eamon Ryan believes.

In a wide-ranging roundtable interview, Ryan said that Roderic O’Gorman holding his seat in November’s election – the only Green TD to do so – means the party is “back already”.

Dublin hit-and-run

2. A man remains in hospital with serious injuries following a hit-and-run incident in Dublin on Sunday evening.

Gardaí said the collision, which involved a pedestrian and a car on Lower Rathmines Road, Rathines, occurred at approximately 8.45pm yesterday.

Belfast City Airport

3. Belfast City Airport has reopened this morning after an Aer Lingus plane suffered an emergency incident while landing during strong winds yesterday afternoon.

The plane’s nose wheel collapsed as it landed at approximately 4pm in Belfast due to adverse weather conditions.

NYC fire

4. Police in New York have arrested a man in connection with the death of a woman who was intentionally lit on fire on a city subway by a stranger.

Police apprehended the suspect after receiving a report from three high school students who had recognised the man from photographs and police body cam video that was widely distributed.

Panama Canal

5. Panama’s president Jose Raul Mulino has dismissed recent threats made by US President-elect Donald Trump to retake control of the Panama Canal over complaints of “unfair” treatment of American ships.

Trump said that if Panama could not ensure “the secure, efficient and reliable operation” of the channel, “then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.”

Gaza aid

6. Just 12 trucks distributed food and water in northern Gaza in two-and-a-half months, aid group Oxfam said on Sunday, raising the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the besieged territory.

Serbia protests

7. Tens of thousands protested in Serbia’s capital Belgrade today to demand that leaders take responsibility for the collapse of a train station roof that killed 15 people last month.

For over seven weeks, the Serbian government has been under pressure from nation-wide demonstrations following the deaths in the northern city of Novi Sad, with many protesters accusing authorities of corruption and inadequate oversight.

Catholic mascot

8. An anime-style character called Luce is the mascot of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, which will officially begin tomorrow evening.

Luce — which means “light” in Italian and Latin — is intended to engage a younger audience throughout the Church’s Jubilee Year.

McDonald interview

9. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has accused Micheál Martin of “running shy” on the issue of a United Ireland.

In an interview with The Journal, the Sinn Féin leader said she didn’t believe the timeline for a United Ireland was slipping away due her party not going into government.