LAST UPDATE | 17 Feb 2025

GOOD MORNING. Here’s the news to know as you start your day.

1. Election disinformation

Legislation passed in 2022 that would empower the state to tackle online election misinformation and disinformation has been put on ice.

The European Commission and a coalition of tech firms including Google, Meta (parent company of Facebook) and TikTok complained that the Irish law went further than EU rules that came into force since the Irish law was adopted.

Now the law has to be amended and the government cannot guarantee it will be in place in time for this year’s presidential election.

2. Danielle McLaughlin

A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of Irish woman Danielle McLaughlin in India in 2017.

Vikat Bhagat was sentenced this morning at the District and Sessions Court in south Goa, according to reporting from RTÉ and BBC.

Danielle McLaughlin, from Buncrana in Co Donegal, was found dead in a secluded spot in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers, in March 2017.

2. Ukraine

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine if needed, hours before European leaders meet in Paris to address the US’s policy shift on the war.

3. Gaza

Israel’s security cabinet is set to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza after top US diplomat Marco Rubio and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu met this weekend.

4. Baftas

Kneecap has missed out on the award for ‘outstanding British film’ at the Baftas, but director Rich Peppiaatt scooped the award for ‘outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer’.

5. Fermanagh cave rescue

A team of cave rescue volunteers worked into the early hours of yesterday morning to free a man who had been stuck in a cave in Co Fermanagh since the previous evening.

Five members of the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO) initially attended the scene but after initial efforts a callout was issued for volunteers across Ireland.

More than 20 ICRO volunteers from north and south of the border attended the scene to assist the operation.

6. Football

Bohemians beat fierce rivals Shamrock Rovers yesterday at the Aviva Stadium.

Ross Tierney’s first-half strike sent Bohs fans home happy on a historic day for domestic football.

7. Eddie Wade

Taoiseach Micháel Martin has led tributes to former Limerick TD and councillor, 76-year-old Eddie Wade.

Wade served as a TD for Limerick East until 2002. He passed away peacefully at Milford Care Centre surrounded by family, his death notice said.

8. Flooding

Much of the US faced another round of biting winter weather yesterday with torrential rains causing intense flooding in Kentucky and resulting in at least four deaths in the south-east of the country.