LAST UPDATE | 23 May 2022
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. In our lead story this morning, Lauren Boland reports that the length of time it takes for a death to be registered in Ireland could be reduced from three months to a matter of weeks under a proposal from the Department of Social Protection.
If the proposal is enacted, medical practitioners would have five days to complete a medical certification of cause of death. Once the deceased’s family receives that certificate, they would have five days to register the death.
The new system would quicken up a process that is handled much slower in Ireland than in other European countries and reduce lags in important data used for public health and a range of policy areas.
2. Russian forces are bombarding a key city in eastern Ukraine with artillery and missiles in an attempt to take more of the Donbas region.
Sievierodonetsk is the main city under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which together with Donetsk province make up the Donbas.
Luhansk’s governor, Serhii Haidai, said on Sunday that the Russians were “simply intentionally trying to destroy the city… engaging in a scorched-earth approach”.
3. The long-awaited Sue Gray partygate report is finally set to be published this week, as Boris Johnson faces calls to explain the purpose of a “secret” meeting with the senior civil servant.
Reports have suggested the document, expected to be published in the coming days, will feature photographs of illegal gatherings.
It was also reported that top British civil servant Simon Case will be particularly hard-hit by the contents, despite the fact he was not fined over the scandal.
4. Gardaí have arrested a second man as part of their investigation into the death of a man in his 50s in Tralee, Co Kerry.
A man in his early 30s has been arrested and is currently being detained at Killarney Garda Station under the provisions of section four of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
A man in his 50s who was arrested yesterday remains in custody.
5. Australia’s new Prime Minister has been sworn into office ahead of a Tokyo summit with US President Joe Biden.
The move took place on Monday as votes are still being counted to determine whether Anthony Albanese will control a majority in a parliament that is demanding tougher action on climate change.
6. Implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol in full would result in “an economic tsunami” hitting Northern Ireland, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has said.
Responding to a tweet from a member of the US House of Representatives, the DUP leader said that calling on the Northern Ireland Protocol to be implemented in full was “such folly”.
7. Two cases of a newly classified Covid-19 variant of concern have been confirmed in Ireland.
Earlier this month, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reclassified two sub-lineages of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, BA.4 and BA.5, from variants of interest to variants of concern.
8. A US military plane bringing several tonnes of much-needed baby formula from Germany has landed at an airport in Indiana as authorities scramble to address a critical shortage.
Scarcity of medical-grade baby formula caused by production problems and supply-chain issues has created grave problems for thousands of parents whose infants, allergic to cow’s milk protein, rely on it, sending them in frantic searches for the product.
9. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a new billionaire every 30 hours and now one million people could fall into extreme poverty at the same pace, Oxfam said today as the Davos summit returns.
The international charity said it was time to tax the rich to support the less fortunate as the global elite gathered at the Swiss mountain haven for the World Economic Forum after a two-year Covid-induced absence.
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