LAST UPDATE | 21 Jun 2024

GOOD MORNING. HERE are the the top stories as your day gets started.

Bred to kill

1. In our lead story today, Noteworthy reveals how some cruel owners are even cashing in on the brutal injuries – by selling on severely scarred pets for a higher price based on their ability to attack, kill and survive.

Others are being bred, with pups sold on the killing capability of their parents.

The revelations have caused revulsion from canine experts who warn that dogs being used in the cruel activity not only pose a risk to other animals, but also to the public.

Cancelled flights

2. Aer Lingus travellers will begin finding out whether their flights have been cancelled from today.

It comes after IALPA pilots commenced industrial action over a pay row.

The airline is taking the step of cancelling between 10% and 20% of its flights on the first five days of the industrial action, which spans Wednesday 26 to Sunday 30 June.

New mayor

3. The inauguration of Limerick’s first directly-elected mayor will take place in the city today.

John Moran was elected following a vote by the people of Limerick – the first of its kind in Ireland.

The event will take place at 11:30am at St Mary’s Cathedral, where Moran will get his mayoral chain.

Wildfires

4. Five people died and dozens were hurt, 10 of them seriously, as wildfires swept through several villages in the Kurdish southeastern Turkey overnight, AFP reports.

Fatal crash

5. A man in his 30s has died in a single-vehicle road traffic collision involving a motorcycle in Wicklow last night.

The collision occurred shortly before 10pm on Thursday night at Turlough Hill. 

NATO boss

6.Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is set to become the next head of NATO after sole challenger Romanian President Klaus Iohannis dropped out of the race.

Rutte is expected to be formally named by NATO’s 32 nations in the coming days and should take over when current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s term ends on 1 October.

Industrial action

7. Criminal barristers in Ireland are set to strike on three dates next month due to what they say is a lack of progress on pay restoration.

The Council of the Bar of Ireland last night recommended that its members who are criminal law practitioners withdraw service on Tuesday 9 July, Monday 15 July and Wednesday 24 July.

Gambling Tories

8. Rishi Sunak said Tory figures who are found to have broken gambling rules “should face the full force of the law”, as he is likely to face further questions on the betting scandal engulfing his faltering election campaign.

The Press Association reports that the UK’s Prime Minister said he was “incredibly angry to learn” of the allegations that a string of people with links to the Conservative Party or No 10 bet on the timing of the July 4 contest before he announced it.

Ruby slippers

9. Resident of the hometown of Judy Garland are raising money in a bid to purchase a pair of ruby slippers which the late actress wore in the classic 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz.

People in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where the film star was born in 1922, are fundraising at the annual Judy Garland festival, which kicked off yesterday.

“They could sell for $1 million, they could sell for $10 million. They’re priceless,” Joe Maddalena, Heritage Auctions executive vice president, told Minnesota Public Radio.