LAST UPDATE | 16 May 2024

GOOD MORNING.

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

Birth Trauma

1. In our lead story this morning, Mairead Maguire reports that women in Ireland who’ve been affected by birth trauma say an inquiry is needed to reflect the scale and impact of the crisis.

It follows a report published in the UK which found that good maternity care in Britain was ”the exception rather than the rule”.

Friendly Fire

2. The Israeli army today said that friendly fire had killed five soldiers the previous day in the northern Gaza Strip, where intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war has resumed in recent days.

Hidden Homelessness

3. Over 30,000 people in Ireland are experiencing hidden homelessness as a result of high rents, a new poll shows.

PM Shooting

4. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is “not in a life threatening situation” after he was shot multiple times and gravely wounded yesterday, his deputy prime minister has said.

Trump Trial

5. It’s crunch time for Donald Trump’s defense team as they take another stab today at Michael Cohen, the key witness in the criminal trial in which the former president is accused of fraudulently covering up his affair with a porn star to influence his first presidential bid.

Drimnagh shooting

6. Gardaí have renewed their appeal for potential witnesses of a fatal shooting in Drimnagh in Dublin, which killed 20-year-old Josh Itseli, to come forward.

Work

7. Spouses and partners of employment permit holders in Ireland who are already in the State will now be granted the right to work under a new agreement from Government. 

Politics Poll

8. Support for Fine Gael has risen by four points in a new Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, putting the party on par with Sinn Féin.

Murder investigation

9. A PSNI murder investigation is underway after a woman in her 30s was found dead at a house in Belfast yesterday afternoon.