LAST UPDATE | 23 May 2024

GOOD MORNING.

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

1. Palestine recognition

News Correspondent Niall O’Connor brings you the inside story behind the months of secret talks that led to Ireland recognising Palestine.

2. Occupied Territories Bill

Taoiseach Simon Harris confirmed he has received updated legal advice on the Occupied Territories Bill from the Attorney General.

3. UK General Election

British newspapers abuzz with the news that the Conservatives and Labour are set to go head to head in a general election on 4 July.

With a sense in some that Sunak has taken a “gamble”, here’s how the country’s media is reacting to the announcement.

4. Housing

An interdepartmental group is to be established to consider the Housing Commission’s proposals on a potential referendum on housing. 

Proposals to enshrine the right to housing within the constitution were first mooted with the government’s Housing for All plan, which committed to tasking the Housing Commission to look at the matter. 

5. Criminal assets seized

Criminal Asset Bureau teams have carried out sweeping searches in Donegal and west Dublin targeting proceeds of criminal activities.

Gardaí seized a 2023 Reg Volvo XC90 and around €73,000 in a bank account, as well as electronic devices and financial documents. 

6. PSNI fined

The PSNI has been fined £750,000 over a severe data breach that saw staff personal details published online.

The data breach, which affected some 10,000 officers and staff, occurred when the service responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking the number of officers and staff of all ranks and grades across the organisation. 

7. Uvalde shooting

The families of 19 of the victims in the Uvalde elementary school shooting in Texas have announced a lawsuit against nearly 100 state police officers who were part of the botched law enforcement response.

The families said in a statement that they also agreed a two million dollar settlement with the city, under which city leaders promised higher standards and better training for local police. 

8. Protest arrests

Four men charged with public order offences during a protest at a facility for asylum seekers in south Dublin have been released on bail and were ordered not to attend refugee centre demonstrations.

Gardaí on duty at a new centre for International Protection applicants in Ballyogan, Carrickmines arrested the men just after midday yesterday. 

9. Mexico stage collapse

A stage collapsed in northern Mexico yesterday as strong winds gusted through a presidential candidate’s campaign rally, leaving at least five people dead and around 50 others injured