EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you start your day.
1. #ABORTION The government has agreed on and published the details for the proposed abortion legislation, the Protection of Life During Pregnancy 2013 bill. We take a look at how the abortion proposals will become law – and here is what the bill contains. At a media briefing this morning, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the legislation “is about women” and the law on abortion has not been changed.
2. #BODY A post-mortem will take place today on the body of a man that was found in a slurry tank in Tipperary. Following this, it is understood gardaí will decide if a murder inquiry is to be launched. A number of today’s papers say the remains are believed to be a man who went missing two years ago near where the body was found.
3. #GARDAÍ The Garda Representative Association is continuing with its annual conference today. Yesterday it called for an independent commission on garda pay and conditions, RTÉ reports, which was welcomed by the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan.
4. #BOSTON A leading anti-death penalty lawyer is to defend Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Previous clients of Judy Clarke’s include the ‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski and Jared Loughner, who attempted to murder congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Meanwhile, the US government has launched a review of the handling and sharing of intelligence ahead of the Boston Marathon attacks.
5. #HOUSEHOLD CHARGE If you haven’t paid your household charge yet, you face a higher charge of €144 from today. The Irish Examiner reports that 1.2m properties had been registered by close of business yesterday. The charge will rise to €145 in June, and after that month it will cost €200.
6. #BANGLADESH Protestors have demanded the execution of factory bosses over the death of nearly 400 people in a building collapse, as May Day became the focus of workers’ anger over the industrial disaster. Despite calls by the prime minister for “cool heads”, tensions showed little sign of abating and there were fears of more violence and vandalism at textile mills.
7. #FUEL The cost of coal, peat and briquettes is to rise today due to the new carbon tax on solid fuels. The rate of tax will be €10 per tonne, rising to €20 per tonne in May 2014.
8. #FODDER The Irish Farmers’ Association has set up a €1 million fund to deal with the fodder crisis, RTÉ says. Five agribusiness firms are helping to finance the fund, and it is aimed at people who fall outside of the government’s scheme.
9. #ARREST A woman was arrested the day after finding an abandoned newborn crying on a beach – as police say she is the baby’s mother. The 21-year-old woman was arrested in Honolulu for filing a false police report. She had said she found the baby on the beach after hearing several people screaming. The woman is due to undergo a DNA test.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say