EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you begin your day.
1. #ARREST: A man in his 30s has been arrested in Dublin by Gardaí investigating the fatal shooting of a man in Ballyfermot, Dublin, just before 3pm yesterday. The victim, named as John Wilson, had previous convictions for drug and firearms offences and the shooting is the third to be described as a gangland killing this week.
2. #PARADE: Up to 30,000 people are expected to march in a Belfast Orange Order parade today marking the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant, with several thousands of spectators also expected, The Irish Time reports. The order has said it will abide by the Parades Commission determination that bands only play sacred music when passing St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Donegal Street after alleged sectarian incidents during the summer.
3. #SEVERANCE: Former Junior Minister Róisin Shortall will receive €33,000 in severance pay over the next 19 months after quitting her position as Minister of State earlier this week. Since Shortall is not entitled to a ministerial pension, having held her position for less than two years, she is guaranteed severance pay in respect of her year-and-a-half as junior minister under James Reilly.
4. #SALARIES: Judges in Ireland earned some €27 million in salaries last year, despite pay cuts, according to figures released last night in a series of Department of Finance reports. Figures also showed over €4.1 million was paid to former ministers last year though several surrendered all or part of their pension with a total of €178,678.73 handed back to the Exchequer in 2011.
5. #EUTHANASIA: A Wicklow-based couple are taking a landmark right-to-die action challenging suicide laws in Ireland, the Irish Independent reports. 59-year-old Marie Fleming, a long-term multiple sclerosis sufferer, wants the option to end her own life with the help of her partner. The couple are challenging our suicide laws in the High Court to try to ensure her partner Tom Curran will not face time in prison for helping her to die.
6. #SYRIA: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore has told the UN General Assembly that Ireland supports tougher sanctions against the Syrian regime, RTE reports. Gilmore also said Ireland remains committed to giving 0.7 per cent of national income in international aid for poor countries.
7. #SPAIN: At least seven people, including two children, have died after heavy rains in Spain triggered flash floods. The country’s weather agency said that up to 245 litres of water per square metre had fallen yesterday morning alone, BBC reports. Over 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the Andalucia region, in the south of the country.
8. #SHOOTING: A man who was let go from his job at a sign-making business in Minneapolis in the US pulled out a handgun in the office yesterday and opened fire, fatally wounding the owner and four others before turning the gun on himself, AP reports. The man’s family said in a statement yesterday that he had struggled with mental illness for years.
9. #RIP: One of Ireland’s best known performers of the showband era, Larry Cunningham, has died in hospital overnight, RTE reports. The 74-year-old singer performed with the likes of Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash over the years and was the first Irish based artist to reach the British pop charts with his song ‘Tribute to Jim Reeves’ in 1964.
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