EVERY MORNING,TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #SYDNEY: Australians are mourning the deaths of the two hostage victims killed in yesterday’s siege in a Sydney cafe, meanwhile more details have been released about the hostage-taker who was well known to police.

2. #COURT: Five people are due in court today after gardaí were attacked and their cars rammed.

3. #ABUSE: The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar told TheJournal.ie that the abuse of vulnerable patients at the Áras Attracta care home in Mayo is the worst he has ever seen.

4. #GOOGLED: Google has released its list of the things that Irish people searched for in 2014 and some of it is exactly what you’d expect.

5. #MONEY OWED: Was your flight cancelled in 2013. You could be owed money.

6. #CORONER: The Irish Times reports that a Mayo inquest into the death of Iranian author Marsha Mehran has recorded an open verdict.

7. #BILL COSBY: The actor’s wife has rejected the sex assault allegations made against her husband.

8. #US: The search is continuing for an ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect after a shooting spree left six people dead.

9. #HOSTAGE: There are reports that Taliban gunmen have stormed a school in Pakistan, with at least 20 people reported to have been killed.