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GOOD MORNING

The 9 at 9 Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.

LAST UPDATE | Dec 28th 2022, 8:50 AM

GOOD MORNING. 

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

State Papers

1. In our lead story this morning, Tadgh Mcnally reports that the Irish Government moved to ban rubber bullets in 1997 as part of plans to put pressure on the UK Government to do the same.

According to formerly confidential documents that were released to the National Archives, then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern proposed that Ireland should ban the use of rubber bullets and destroy any existing stock within the State in December 1997.

The files, released yearly to the National Archives, provide further detail to both journalists and historians on historical events.

Tax cuts

2. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he is not “hung up” on introducing a new 30% income tax rate, but that he wanted to see the standard rate cut-off point increased to €50,000.

The Taoiseach said that he wanted to reduce the tax burden for people on “very modest incomes” and that this could be done either by introducing a new middle tax bracket or increasing the standard rate cut-off point.

When asked if the 30% tax bracket would be introduced in Budget 2024, Varadkar said that he wanted to help people deal with the rising cost of living through pay rises and reducing income tax.

China

3. The United States is considering Covid entry restrictions for travellers from China, US officials said yesterday, after Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month.

Infections have surged across China as key pillars of its containment policy have been dismantled, prompting US officials to express concern at the potential for new variants to be unleashed.

That potential became even more real Monday when Beijing said it would scrap mandatory Covid quarantine for overseas arrivals from 8 January, prompting many in China to rush to plan trips abroad.

Aidan McAnespie

4. A report into the shooting of a man as he walked through a British Army checkpoint in Northern Ireland found it “difficult to accept” the soldier’s claims about the incident, records show.

Aidan McAnespie died in Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, in February 1988. The 23-year-old was on his way to a local GAA club when he was shot by a Grenadier guardsman.

Records from the Irish state archives reveal the Crowley Report findings into the shooting.

‘Blizzard of the century’

5. In the US, the monster storm that killed dozens in the country over the Christmas weekend is continuing to inflict misery on New York state and air travellers across the country.

Families have found themselves trapped for days during the “blizzard of the century”, with some fleeing their homes only to become stranded on highways.

Flooding

6. The death toll from heavy rains and floods that devastated parts of the Philippines over the Christmas weekend has risen to 25, with 26 others still missing, the national disaster response agency has said.

Nearly 400,000 people were affected, with over 81,000 still in shelters and nine others injured, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council added.

Elle Edwards

7. Merseyside police chief constable Serena Kennedy has vowed that the force will be “relentless” in the hunt to bring the killer of a woman in a pub on Christmas Eve to justice.

Elle Edwards, 26, was shot in the head at the Lighthouse in Wallasey Village near Liverpool as she celebrated Christmas with friends, dying later in hospital. Merseyside Police have said she is not believed to have been the target of the attack.

RIP

8. An Irish man taking a tour in western Thailand died yesterday after falling out of a moving train, local police said.

The man was identified as 45-year-old Patrick Ward, whose passport said he was born in New Zealand, according to the Associated Press. It’s believed that he only entered Thailand on Monday.

Redacted Lives

9. The Journal recently launched a six-part documentary series, Redacted Lives, about mother and baby homes, telling the stories of women and children who passed through the system.

The series was released across six weeks in November and December. If you missed it, you can catch up on all episodes here.