EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #MARS: “Touchdown confirmed – we are safe on Mars”. NASA has successfully landed a robot the size of a small car on Mars to start a 98-week mission to explore whether water ever existed on the Red Planet. The Curiosity rover touched down on Mars just after 6.30am Irish-time this morning after spending nine months travelling from Earth. You can see cheering NASA workers celebrating the successful landing in this video.
2. #TEMPLE SHOOTING: US police have described the shooting incident at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin yesterday which left seven people dead as an act of domestic terrorism. Barack Obama said he was “deeply saddened” by the killings which are believed to have been carried out by a lone gunman. The suspect killed six people at the temple during a Sunday morning service before he was shot dead in an exchange of gunfire with a police officer.
3. #WATER SUPPLY: Homes and businesses across parts of north Dublin have been warned by Dublin City Council and the HSE not to use their water for drinking or cooking until further notice after a sample of water was found not to meet safety standards. Water tankers will be in place in the area between Clontarf and Howth today.
4. #NAMA: A TD has called for a Garda investigation into how a NAMA employee bought a house from the agency’s property portfolio despite it not being publicly for sale. The ex-employee says he asked permission from the Head of Compliance at NAMA before buying the property and was told that it was not an issue.
5. #ATTACK: A man remains in critical condition in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin after being assaulted in Galway in the early hours of Sunday morning. The 22-year-old victim was hit on the head by a rock in the attack on the Milltown Road in Tuam. A man in his late teens has been arrested in connection with the assault.
6. #DROWNING: A 73-year-old former lecturer at Trinity College drowned at the weekend after falling into the Avoca River, despite attempts by his daughter to save him. Julian Hart was on a family picnic when he fell into the strong currents, reports the Irish Examiner.
7. #DRUG COSTS: Sinn Féin has said that Irish patients are being ripped off after a survey found that generic drugs are up to 12 times more expensive in Ireland than they are in other countries. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that the Government’s agreement with the pharmaceutical industry has led to a massive price differential for Irish consumers.
8. #TENSIONS: Independent TD Luke Ming Flanagan has called on Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett to resign after the two had an altercation in the corridors of Leinster House over Barrett’s chairmanship. In an article in today’s Daily Mail, Flanagan criticised Barrett’s chairing of the Dáil and denied that he had subjected the Ceann Comhairle to a ‘vicious, unprovoked verbal assault’.
9. #OLYMPICS: It’s a crucial day for the Irish at the Olympics today. After John Joe Nevin secured Ireland’s first medal last night, today will see both Katie Taylor and Annalise Murphy competing for a top-three finish. Katie Taylor’s long-awaited quarter-final bout kicks off at 2.30pm when she will take on Britain’s Natasha Jonas. Meanwhile Annalise Murphy will be hoping to continue her impressive sailing performance with the final race in the Laser Radial competition. Good luck!
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