LAST UPDATE | 18 Dec 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Noteworthy investigation

In our morning lead, Tommy Greene of Journal Media’s crowdfunded investigative platform Noteworthy finds that Irish meat and dairy may be linked to Amazon forest clearance.

Data obtained by Noteworthy and reports uncovering evidence of ongoing illegal deforestation in agri-food supply chains suggest Irish consumers may be “dining on deforestation” through the meat and dairy products they purchase.

Fire at Galway hotel

A fire at a hotel in Galway has been condemned by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and ministers while two Fianna Fáil councillors have criticised the government’s asylum seeker policy.

Fine Gael TD Hildegarde Naughton has said the suspected arson attack on a hotel earmarked for asylum seekers in Co Galway is “deeply shocking and disturbing”. 

However two Fianna Fáil councillors in Co Galway, Noel Thomas and Séamus Walsh have continued to raise concerns about government plans to house asylum seekers at the hotel.

Calls for ‘sustainable’ ceasefires Gaza

Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the rising civilian death toll and destruction of hospitals in Gaza, as it presses on with its offensive against Hamas militants in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The United Nations Security Council is set to vote today on a new resolution calling for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza.

North Korea testing missiles

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea on this morning in a resumption of its high-profile weapons testing activities, South Korea said.

South Korea’s military said in a statement that the North Korean missile flew about 1,000 kilometres before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Floods in Australia

Around 300 residents were evacuated overnight in Northeastern Australia after floods have hit the north of the province Queensland – already causing major damage to the area.

The province’s prime minister said every lifeboat possible was sent to help with rescue efforts however residents remain cautions to return to their homes as roads have been wipes out and crocodiles have been spotted in the water

Serbian elections

Serbia’s governing populist party claimed a sweeping victory in the country’s parliamentary election, which have been marred by reports of major irregularities both during a tense campaign and on voting day.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that with half of the ballots counted, the Serbian Progressive Party’s projections show that President Aleksandar Vucic won 47% of the vote and expects to hold around 130 seats in the 250-member assembly.

Maureen Sweeney

The Irish woman, whose weather forecast changed the timing of D-Day, died yesterday aged 100.

At 21 years old, Maureen’s forecast was the first to be published that informed the public of an incoming storm off the Atlantic, from Blacksod Lighthouse on 3 June 1944.

Her report postponed the Allied Forces’ plans to storm France’s coast until 6 June 1944.

Russia

Delegates from Russia’s ruling party unanimously backed President Vladimir Putin’s bid for re-election at a conference in Moscow, state agencies reported today.

The move came just a day after the Kremlin leader’s supporters formally nominated him to run in the 2024 presidential election as an independent.

Hostage incident

A brother of one of the hostages who were killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, despite being shirtless and waving a white flag to the soldiers, has said his brother was “abandoned and murdered” by the country’s military.

At a funeral yesterday, the family of Alon Shamriz – one of the hostages killed – denounced the military and for “abandoning” their relative.