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GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know to start the day.
1. Up to 70% of Britons think that Keir Starmer is doing badly as British Prime Minister. Pressure on Starmer intensified after last week’s local elections, which saw Labour suffer heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK surged. 80 Labour MPs have since called on Starmer to resign.
2. RTÉ’s Derek Mooney was re-labelled as a presenter in the official top 10 highest presenters’ pay list in 2024 in updated figures published this week. But what exactly does he do at RTÉ? According to the broadcaster, he presents and produces a number of shows, ranging from weekly to once a year.
3. Taiwan said today that it is an “independent” nation, hours after US President Donald Trump warned the democratic island against declaring formal independence. Trump has completed a state visit to Beijing on Friday where Chinese President Xi Jinping had pressed him not to support Taiwan, which China claims is part of its territory.
4. The Eurovision Grand Final takes place tonight in Vienna. Broadcasters from Ireland and four other countries boycotting the contest, and only a few dozen Irish fans have decided to make the trip. Some Irish Eurovision superfans said they’d simply stopped following the contest, for this year at least.
5. At least seven people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, according to health officials in the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Saraya Field Hospital and Shifa hospital.
6. In a public meeting of the South Dublin Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) group, issues with antisocial behaviour, garda shortages and fear and intimidation were highlighted. Mayor of South Dublin County Council Pamela Kearns said: “The answer is early intervention, helping parents who are struggling, because a lot of the issues are happening in the more deprived areas.”
7. The prospect of a leadership challenge to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer grew after Andy Burnham was cleared to run for selection in a byelection in the north of England. The Greater Manchester mayor is seeking to replace Josh Simons, who is standing down as an MP for the Makerfield constituency to make way for Burnham to return to the House of Commons.
8. Driverless robots are to be used to transport food, medicines and other supplies around the new National Children’s Hospital. The hospital, whose completion date has been delayed 19 times, had an original completion date of August 2022, while costs have ballooned from a planned €650 million to an expected €2.2 billion.
9. There’s a wet and changeable weekend ahead, with thunderstorms expected tomorrow, giving way to milder conditions next week, with temperatures of up to 17 degrees expected on Wednesday.
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