LAST UPDATE | 27 Feb 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Northern Ireland Protocol

1. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears to be on the verge of agreeing a Brexit deal aimed at easing trade friction in Northern Ireland as he enters into “final talks” with the European Union.

Sunak will meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor, Berkshire, today to discuss a “range of complex challenges” around the Northern Ireland Protocol, Downing Street said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said yesterday that he had been in touch with both leaders at the weekend, and described the visit as an encouraging development. 

Refugee accommodation

2. Additional resources are set to be allocated towards a new team that seeks to communicate better with local representatives and communities around the allocation of refugees. 

The plan was agreed at a sub-Cabinet committee on Ukraine, with Cabinet set to sign off on a staffing and media budget this week. 

Government sources said that there will be extra money allocated and designated people in local areas.  

War in Ukraine

3. The US is “confident” that China is considering providing lethal equipment to support the Russian forces invading Ukraine, according to CIA director William Burns.

Such a step by China would be “a very risky and unwise bet,” the intelligence chief said in an interview aired on CBS yesterday.

As the war drags on, US officials have stepped up their warnings to Beijing that delivering lethal weaponry to Moscow could have profound consequences. 

Social Democrats

4. Social Democrat Holly Cairns is set to become the next leader of her party after all of its other sitting TDs ruled themselves out of the race.

Co-leaders Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy announced earlier this week that they would be stepping down after leading the party since it was founded in 2015.

Cairns, a West Cork TD, confirmed yesterday that she intends to run for the position, saying she is “so grateful for the support of my colleagues in the parliamentary party and members of the Social Democrats all over the country”. 

Menopause

5. There is still “a long way to go” to remove the stigma around menopause in Ireland, according to the clinical lead of the Rotunda Hospital’s menopause clinic.

Dr Caoimhe Hartley told The Journal that while progress has been made in providing better treatment options for women experiencing menopause, we are “not where we need to be” with women’s health in Ireland and the existing misinformation surrounding healthcare for women needs to be tackled.

“If you compare the options for women at the moment who are experiencing menopause symptoms or have concerns or want to talk to someone, to what would have been available to the same women five years ago, we’re definitely improved,” she said. 

Marius Mamaliga

6. A teenager who was stabbed in an incident in north Dublin on Thursday evening has died, gardaí have confirmed. 

19-year-old Marius Mamaliga had been in a critical condition in hospital since he was brought there by ambulance from Brookdale Avenue in Swords, Co Dublin. 

A man has already appeared in court charged with causing serious harm to Mamaliga.

Belarus

7. Belarus’ exiled opposition have said that partisans were able to destroy a Russian plane at an airstrip near the capital Minsk.

It comes following a series of military operations in recent months which has seen Ukraine has expressed fears that Minsk will enter the war on Russia’s side.

But according to news media close to the Belarusian opposition, an A-50 surveillance plane worth €330 million was destroyed by partisans. 

SAG Awards

8. Sci-fi comedy “Everything Everywhere All At Once” won the top awards from the Screen Actors Guilt last night, continuing its dominance of this year’s Hollywood award shows.

While several Irish actors had picked up nominations, the SAG awards didn’t bring them any wins.

Rocket launch

9. Last-minute technical trouble forced SpaceX to call off an attempt to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for Nasa.

The countdown was halted with just two minutes remaining until lift-off at 6.45am Irish time.

It meant there was no time to deal with the problem, which involved the engine ignition system, at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida