LAST UPDATE | 10 Dec 2024

GOOD MORNING.

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

Party negotiations

1. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s negotiating teams are to meet today for the first time.

Party leaders Micheál Martin and Simon Harris met for an hour yesterday in what has been described as a “positive” and “constructive” meeting.

CEO shooter charged

2. A man who was arrested over the killing of a US health insurance executive in New York city last week has been charged with murder.

Luigi Mangione (26) was charged on suspicion of one count of murder, three firearm violations and forgery, according to online court documents cited by the New York Times and CNN.

Netanyahu testifies

3. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to take the stand today in his long-running trial for alleged corruption.

The trial continues amid Syrian media reports that allege Israeli warplanes have carried out dozens of attacks across the country, including in the capital, Damascus.

Data centre power demands

4. Environmental campaigners are calling on the government to reconsider its policy on data centres following new Irish research highlighting their impact on climate commitments.

The University College Cork research found that electricity demand from data centres has grown at an annual rate of almost 23% since 2015.

Burke father attack

5. The father of jailed teacher Enoch Burke has told a judge he does not recollect throwing a female garda to the ground in the Court of Appeal and claimed it was “completely accidental” if it did happen.

Sean Burke, who is in his 60s, denies assaulting Bridewell Garda Victoria Fisher in the Four Courts on 7 March last year.

Syrian asylum decisions suspended

6. Britain, Germany, France and several other European countries have indicated that they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians, a day after the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad.

While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Austria signalled it would soon deport refugees back to Syria.

DRC disease

7. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that laboratory tests are underway to determine the cause of a mysterious disease that has killed dozens of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They say that the remoteness of the area most affected and the lack of resources has delayed the identification of the dangerous disease.

EU-Mercosur deal

8. Protests continue in Brussels in opposition to a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur countries in South America.

Irish MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan has questioned the proposed Mercosur trade deal, saying that “trust has been damaged” in European institutions and its ability to manage trade partnerships arising from the war in Gaza.

Greyhound racing ban

9. New Zealand lawmakers have announced that the greyhound racing industry will be banned, citing animal welfare concerns and the “unacceptably high” number of injured and dying dogs.

Minister for Racing Winston Peters said the industry would be phased out over the next 20 months, giving trainers the chance to rehome dogs.