EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things to know with your first cup of coffee…
1. #ULSTER BANK: Thousands of Ulster Bank customers are facing a weekend without their wages as the lender struggles to fix a “major technical issue” in its systems. The Irish Examiner reports that 29,000 people on social welfare have also been left without their payments.
2. #JAMES NOLAN: An autopsy on the body of 21-year-old James Nolan after it was pulled from a canal in Bydgoszcz, Poland has found no evidence of assault or foul play. Hundreds of people gathered in the city yesterday in an outpouring of sympathy for the Wickow man’s family.
3. #EUROZONE: IMF head Christine Lagarde has urged EU leaders to perform a U-turn in their bailout policy by giving emergency funds directly to banks rather than saddling countries with the debt, Reuters reports. Her comments will boost Irish hopes for a renegotiation of our bailout deal.
4. #HOSPITALS: Up to 350,000 people are currently on hospital waiting lists for an appointment with a specialist – with as many as three-quarters of those already waiting for more than a year, the Irish Independent reports. The number is dramatically higher than figures released by the HSE earlier this month.
5. #PROPERTY: There is money to be made from buying property in Ireland – but Nama is discouraging investors by delaying the sale of apartments, one developer has claimed. Proinsias O Naraigh was speaking to TheJournal.ie after publishing an ad reading “Cash Buyer Seeks Apartment Block”.
6. #SURGERY: Doctors have performed pioneering surgery to remove a tumour from the mouth of a foetus – while it was still in its mother’s womb. Medics in Florida believe the operation performed on pregnant Tammy Gonzales was the first of its kind, the Miami Herald reports.
7. #SUICIDE: The global suicide rate has increased by 45 per cent over the last 45 years, with around 900,000 people around the world taking their own lives each year. Suicide is now the leading cause of death among female adolescents worldwide.
8. #DEATHS: Two men in their 20s have been killed in a crash in Co Longford in the early hours of this morning. Two others who were also in the vehicle were seriously injured in the accident.
9. #LEPRECHAUNS: A man found bloodied and bruised on a Seattle street earlier this week told police that “a bunch of leprechauns” beat him up. KOMO News reports that the leprechauns were angry with him for dancing with a girl.
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