LAST UPDATE | 20 Apr 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Refugees 

1. Only seven sites for modular homes to accommodate families fleeing the war in Ukraine have been found so far by the state. In total, the sites have a capacity for 312 rapid-build homes.

The plans for the sites, which are spread across the country, are part of the government’s humanitarian efforts to the Ukrainian crisis. However, the current numbers are way short of the government’s own target of 700 modular homes. 

Stephen Silver

2. The family of Detective Garda Colm Horkan, who was shot eleven times with his own service gun, have said he “had so much more living to do” and “was robbed of so much”.

Stephen Silver was yesterday handed a life sentence with a minimum of 40 years in prison for the capital murder of Garda Horkan in June 2020. 

Extradition

3. It would be “unjust” to extradite an Irish man who is still wanted in Germany for a “stupid” drunken incident at a Berlin takeaway almost 30 years ago, his lawyers have told the High Court.

A warrant for the arrest of Dublin-born Liam Patrick Daly (50) who has an address in Birmingham was first issued in 1996 over an allegation that he entered a takeaway on Uhlandstrasse in Berlin on 18 February 1994, holding the leg of a chair and wanting money. 

Arrest

4. A woman in her 20s has been arrested by gardaí as part of an investigation into “organised prostitution” and money laundering.

A garda spokesperson said: “The investigation focusses on persons attached to an Eastern European Organised Crime Group who are suspected of being involved in organised prostitution, brothel-keeping and money laundering.”

Rocket test

5. Spacex is to make a second attempt to carry out the first test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

A planned liftoff of the gigantic rocket on Monday was aborted less than 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled launch because of a pressurization issue in the first-stage booster.

Vaccine hesitancy

6. Ireland was one of over 50 countries around the world that lost confidence in the importance of childhood vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report on immunisation from UNICEF.

According to the report, published today, the public perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined in 52 out of 55 countries studied. 

Ukraine 

7. American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, according to the country’s defence minister.

The US agreed in October to supply the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles which Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.

Crowd surge

8. At least 85 people were killed and over 300 injured in a crush at a charity distribution event in war-torn Yemen today, Huthi officials said, one of the deadliest crowd crushes in a decade.

The latest tragedy to strike the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country came days ahead of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday celebrated around the world by feasting to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Foo Fighters

9. Foo Fighters have announced a new album is in the works, the first since the death of the band’s drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The rockers said in a statement that the upcoming 10-track But Here We Are will be “a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year”.