GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
Russian invasion
1. In our lead story this morning, Céimin Burke speaks to charity workers on the ground in Ukraine, who say that many more than two months after Russia launched its massive assault, many Ukrainians still can’t believe what’s unfolding in their country.
“I think there’s still disbelief that this is happening,” GOAL’s Dr Georgina Jordan explains.
“There’s two types of shock; One is that they’ve seen terrible things on the way out and the full reality of it hasn’t hit them yet.
“The other type of shock is, maybe they didn’t see terrible things the way out, and they still don’t believe what’s happening,” the charity’s head of emergency response says.
Mariupol
2. At least 20 civilians including several children were able to leave a badly battered steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol yesterday in what could be the start of a long-awaited, larger evacuation of the last holdout in the Russian-held city.
Earlier efforts at evacuations from the Azovstal steel plant – where local fighters say they and hundreds of civilians are still sheltering in brutal conditions – had been futile.
Ukrainian fighters of the Azov regiment, which has been defending the site, said 20 civilians had left, possibly for the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, about 225 kilometres to the northwest.
Inflation crisis
3. A number of utility price rises are set to kick in this month, with consumers set to face additional costs for gas and electricity.
Electric Ireland previously announced that its charges are set to rise by over 20%, with that increase beginning from 1 May.
Residential Electric Ireland electricity prices are set to rise by 23.4%, which will equate to an additional €297.58 per year onto the average cost of electricity.
Longford
4. A woman is in a critical condition in hospital following a collision between a car and a lorry in Granard, Co Longford.
The crash occurred at around 10.30am yesterday on the Ballyjamesduff Road in the townland of Rathcronan in Granard.
Northern Ireland
5. A Sinn Féin victory in the Stormont Assembly elections will send the message that it is “business as usual” with the Northern Ireland Protocol, Jeffrey Donaldson has said.
The DUP leader was addressing a rally in Bangor, Co Down yesterday, where he said both the UK Government and the EU now recognised that the protocol needed to be changed.
Misinformation
6. As part of The Good Information Project’s look at the war against misinformation, Brianna Parkins writes about ‘prebunking’, a solution being floated by some academics and policy makers that protects people from misinformation before they see it.
Prebunking involves inoculating people with weaker doses of misinformation in a safe space in order to strengthen their ability to spot it in the wild.
Overcrowding
7. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has warned of a “real problem with overcrowding all along the western seaboard” after record-breaking overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick.
Figures from the INMO reveal over 8,717 patients have been without a bed in April.
Refugee crisis
8. A junior minister has voiced their favour for holiday homes being drafted in as emergency accommodation for refugees fleeing Ukraine, but has noted that it is not currently part of the government’s plans.
Dublin Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan said “every lever” must be pulled to ensure accommodation can be provided for people arriving into Ireland from the war-torn country, which could include an incentivisation scheme for owners of holiday homes.
Undefeated
9. Katie Taylor came back from the brink of defeat to maintain her unblemished record with a points victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden.
After being seriously hurt and looking all but done for in a vicious fifth round, Taylor produced a recovery for the ages in a fight for all time to defend her lightweight throne on a split decision.
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