LAST UPDATE | 5 Dec 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Russian sanctions

1. Oil prices have risen in response to an agreement by the G7 group of nations which has come into effect today.

Brent crude added around 1% to more than $86 (€81) in Asia trading as the price of Russian oil was capped at $60 (€56) a barrel.

The move is part of increased pressure by the West over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Irish Army

2. A Defence Forces captain has warned that the shortage of officers in operational units is a safety risk for live fire exercises. 

Capt Karl Muckian told the annual conference of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) that such is the shortfall that the issue should be added to the strategic risk register. 

‘Bitterly cold’

3. It’s set to be a wintry week ahead with a weather advisory in place nationwide. 

Met Éireann has issued a winter weather advisory for the whole country. It kicked in at 11.46am yesterday and will remain in place until 11.30pm next Saturday, 10 December. 

The forecaster has said it will be very cold this week as an Arctic airmass sets in, bringing sharp to severe frosts and icy stretches on roads. 

Fuel Allowance

4. An expansion of the Fuel Allowance Scheme to 81,000 further people is to be announced by Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys today. 

The Fuel Allowance is a means-tested payment to help with the cost of heating your home during the winter months.

It is paid to people to are receiving certain long-term social welfare payments.

Citizenship ceremonies 

5. 3,500 people will officially become Irish citizens today and tomorrow at ceremonies in Killarney, Co Kerry.

People from over 130 countries will receive their certificates of naturalisation and take an oath of fidelity to the Irish State in four separate ceremonies at the Gleneagle INEC Arena in Killarney.

The ceremonies will take place both today and tomorrow. 

Eurogroup

6. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe is expected to be re-elected for a second term as president of the Eurogroup this afternoon.

The Eurogroup confirmed that Donohoe was the only minister to put his name forward for the role when nominations closed two weeks ago.

The group is an informal body where ministers of euro area member states discuss common concerns around sharing a single currency.

Zero-Covid

7. Businesses reopened and testing requirements have been relaxed in Beijing and other Chinese cities today as the country tentatively eases out of a strict zero-Covid policy that sparked nationwide protests.

Local authorities across China have begun a slow rollback of the restrictions that have governed daily life for years, encouraged by the central government’s orders for a new approach to fighting the coronavirus.

China Protests

8. Writing for The Journal, Human rights lawyer and professor Teng Biao looks at the recent protests in China and asks if it’s the beginning of a new wave of resistance.

During recent protests, many people were holding blank pieces of white paper in their hands, protesting against the zero-Covid policy, and in Shanghai, chanting for Xi Jinping to step down.

Biao writes: “This display has not been seen in China since 1989, when millions of students, workers and civilians participated in the democratic movement tragically crushed by the Tiananmen Massacre.”

U2

9. U2 were among the newest Kennedy Center honourees during a glamourous event last night.

The Kennedy Center Honours are given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.