LAST UPDATE | 11 Apr 2024

GOOD MORNING. 

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

New boss

1. Some 15% of Irish voters have said they are less likely to vote for Fine Gael in the upcoming European elections as a result of Simon Harris becoming leader of the party. 

The results from the latest The Journal/Ireland Thinks European Elections series  published today will come as a knock to Harris, with the biggest loss of support visible among the 18-34-year-old age group. 

Wild Atlantic Way

2. Fáilte Ireland has said that the Wild Atlantic Way, the tourism route along the Atlantic coast, is worth €3 billion per year to the Irish economy. 

Crash

3. At least 17 religious pilgrims have been killed and 41 injured in a crash as they travelled to a shrine in southwestern Pakistan.

The travellers were en route to a prayer site during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which is currently underway.

Europe Agenda

4. Taoiseach Simon Harris will meet the President of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today, with the issue of Palestine and the Middle East understood to be “high” on the meeting’s agenda.

Philadelphia

5. At least three people have been shot at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia, according to police. 

WRC

6. A nursing home operator has been ordered to pay €30,000 compensation to a healthcare assistant after she was cornered by a patient with dementia touching himself sexually and racially abused by a drunk patient.

Man on the Moon

7. A Japanese Astronaut will become the first non-American to set foot on the Moon during one of NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions, US President Joe Biden has announced.

Cancer survival 

8. Cancer survival rates in Ireland are unlikely to improve due to the current rate of underfunding, according to the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Examiner reports.

Russian strike

9. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia fired more than 40 missiles and 40 drones at Ukraine overnight, again hitting the city of Kharkiv and targeting “critical infrastructure” throughout the country, AFP reports.