LAST UPDATE | 16 Dec 2024

GOOD MORNING.

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

Garda assault

1. A second man has been arrested in connection with the assault and robbery of two off-duty gardaí who were attacked in the Temple Bar area of Dublin on Friday night, with one in critical condition with serious head injuries following the assault.

It is believed the incident happened as the gardaí were making their way home from socialising in the city.

Israeli embassy

2. The chairperson of the Jewish Council of Ireland has said he is “deeply concerned” by the deterioration in relations between Ireland and Israel following the closure of the Israeli embassy in Dublin yesterday.

Maurice Cohen, chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, said the Irish Government’s intervention at the ICJ alongside South Africa had risked “oversimplifying” a complex and tragic conflict.

Waste report

3. Ireland is producing more waste now than it did a decade ago and is “almost certain” to miss EU recycling targets next year.

In 2022, Ireland generated 15.7 million tonnes of waste, according to a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Mayotte cyclone

4. Rescuers to search for survivors this morning after a powerful cyclone hit the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, laying to waste the territory’s many shantytowns.

Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville expects the final death toll will reach “close to a thousand or even several thousand”, he told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere.

Golan Heights

5. The Israeli government has approved a plan to increase the population of the annexed Golan Heights, while insisting it had no intention of confronting Syria after seizing a UN-monitored buffer zone.

As Islamist-led rebel forces swept Syrian president Bashar al-Assad out of power last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered troops to seize the demilitarised zone between the two countries’ forces on the Golan Heights.

Hit and run

6. A woman in her 70s has been seriously injured after a hit-and-run incident in Co Louth.

The collision occurred on the Armagh Road (R177) at the junction with the Toberona Road in Dundalk shortly after 1pm on Sunday.

Holyhead closure

7. A meeting has been scheduled this morning with hauliers to discuss the massive backlog across the Irish Sea.

This backlog has arisen from the HolyHead Port closure due to Storm Darragh damages.

RTÉ Sports awards

8. Paul O’Donovan was named RTÉ Sport Sportsperson of the Year last night.

The Cork man became the first Irish Olympian to win medals at three consecutive games in 2024, winning Olympic gold at the double sculls in Paris – and gold at the World Rowing Championships single sculls.

Yoon impeachment

9. South Korean enforcement authorities will request that impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appear for questioning this week over his short-lived martial law decree.

Investigators are exploring whether his ill-conceived power grab amounted to rebellion.