LAST UPDATE | 14 Dec 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Cold Snap

1. A Status Orange low temperature and ice warning is set to come into effect across most of the country this evening.

The warning, issued by Met Éireann earlier yesterday, impacts 19 counties across the country and will come into effect at 6pm tomorrow until midday on Thursday.

Homelessness

2. Outreach groups are “doing all they can” to ensure people sleeping rough take up offers of emergency accommodation during the current cold snap.

During the extremely cold weather period in late February and early March of 2018, dubbed “The Best from the East”), some homeless people had to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act after refusing to enter emergency accommodation.

Action

3. Grateful Nkencho, whose 27-year-old brother was shot dead by Gardaí in 2020, has initiated High Court proceedings against the Garda Commissioner, the Attorney General, the Minister for Justice and the State arising from his death.

Harringtons LLP Solicitor confirmed that the case had been issued yesterday but declined to comment further.

New Rules

 4. Local authorities will be able to secure a proportion of any land value increase arising from planning and development decisions on newly zoned sites for housing.  

Under plans approved by Cabinet yesterday, the State will be able to reap 30% of the value uplift.

Minister Darragh O’Brien got Cabinet approval yesterday for an updated General Scheme of the Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones Bill.

Explosions

5.  The mayor of Kyiv has reported multiple explosions in the Ukrainian capital for the first time in weeks.

Vitali Klitschko wrote in a post on Telegram that there were explosions in a central district of the capital that is home to many government agencies and buildings.

He said municipal teams were in place and more details were expected.

Injured

6.  Top Gear presenter Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff  was injured and taken to hospital to receive medical treatment after being involved in an accident while filming for the show.

The incident happened yesterday morning while the 45-year-old former professional cricketer was filming at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.

Strabane

7. A man has been arrested in the investigation into the attempted murder of two police officers in Northern Ireland last month. 

It dates back to an alleged bomb attack on the night of 17th November when two constables on patrol were attacked in the Mount Carmel Heights area of County Tyrone.

Cost of Fuel

8. The average price of fuel has dropped by an average of more than 10% across the country, according to the latest AA Ireland Fuel Survey. 

The average price of a litre of petrol is now €1.60 per litre, a 17 cents (-9.8%) drop since last month and the lowest average price for petrol since September 2021.

Sound of Mars

9. A Nasa rover has recorded the sound of a red dust devil whizzing past on Mars.

The 10-second first-of-its-kind audio was released yesterday and captures not only gusts of up to 25mph but also the pinging of hundreds of dust particles against the rover Perseverance.