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GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know to start the day.
1. Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could see Israel’s withdrawal from parts of the territory and the freeing of the remaining living hostages within days. The agreement, to be signed today, also calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as well as prompt a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of an offensive that has seen a manmade famine declared in Gaza City.
2. Tens of thousands of children under the age of five are experiencing “unprecedented” levels of preventable starvation due to war and aid blockades in Gaza, according to new research published in one of the world’s leading medical journals.
3. The environmental watchdog has said the the volume of raw sewage discharged daily has halved since early 2024, but criticised Uisce Éireann for delays in improving infrastructure, which it said is “prolonging risks” to water quality.
4. The price of an average residential property is now eight times more than average earnings, the highest it has been since 2009, according to a new report.
5. A trade union has called on the government to follow Scotland’s lead and legislate for the specific offence of abusing retail and bar workers. It’s after a survey of Mandate members has found that more than one in 10 has been assaulted at work and two thirds verbally abused.
6. The two candidates still campaigning for the Áras, Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys, will go head to head in the next presidential debate this afternoon from 4.50pm. This one’s not a TV outing – they’ll be in the studios of RTÉ’s Drivetime for the debate, to be hosted by the show’s usual presenters Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra.
7. Gardaí seized over €8.2 million worth of drugs as part of an operation to “dismantle a well-structured criminal organisation involved in large-scale drug distribution”. Raids were carried out yesterday and on Tuesday.
8. A very much alive Dolly Parton has taken to social media to declare “I ain’t dead yet!” after her sister sent fans into a tailspin when she called for prayers for the beloved country singer. She told her fans: “I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me, and I ain’t done working.”
9. The forecast for today is looking pretty good – it will be dry for most, apart from outbreaks of patchy light rain or drizzle in the north and north-west. Highest temperatures of 12 to 16 degrees.
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