EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #NORTH KOREA: North Korea says that it is in “a state of war” with South Korea following increased international and regional tensions, with leader Kim Jong-un saying that his rocket forces were ready “to settle accounts with the US” and promised “stern physical actions” against “any provocative act”, the BBC reports. The US has said it will not be intimated by “bellicose rhetoric” and is fully capable to defend its allies.
2. #SAVITA: Legal representatives of the Praveen Halappanavar have said the women of Ireland are “fortunate” that Savita Halappanavar had a husband like him, as his bravery and consistency had agitated for the publishing of recommendations that could save lives, the Irish Times reports. The final draft report of the HSE inquiry into the death of Savita, 31, in a Galway hospital last year was received yesterday by the widower’s solicitor.
3. #DISSIDENTS: Gardaí are continuing to question eight men in connection with suspected dissident republican activity in Dublin this morning. The men were arrested following a search of a commercial premises in Clondalkin yesterday.
4. #WATER RESTRICTIONS: Water restrictions will continue in Dublin city today following an increase in leakages during the recent cold snap. The restrictions will be applied between 10pm and 9am ahead of a review on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, unseasonably cold temperatures are set to continue over the weekend (and you’d be forgiven for forgetting that it will technically be summer time tomorrow).
5. #GARDAÍ: There has been a call for a junior minister to be appointed with the express responsibility of liaising with Gardaí. Fine Gael’s Tom Barry said that the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter “does not have the time to engage properly with the force”, pointing out that a junior minister is appointed to the 9,500-strong Defence Forces while garda numbers top 13,200, the Irish Examiner reports.
6. #PERSONAL INSOLVENCY: Guidelines to the new Personal Insolvency Service indicate that families with two children could be instructed to live on a maximum of €22,500 per year, including child benefit payments but not childcare costs or mortgage repayments, according to the Irish Independent. The guidelines also reportedly suggest that home-owners could face giving up their houses to obtain a debt deal.
7. #ARMAGH: A pipe bomb was detonated in a Co Armagh village last night, according to the PSNI. The device was detonated just before midnight in the Ardaveen area of Bessbrook without reports of injuries.
8. #MANDELA: Nelson Mandela is beginning a third day in hospital as part of treatment for a lung infection. The 94-year-old is said to be making “steady progress” but there is no other information about his condition.
9. #LANDSLIDE: Rescue workers are attempting to free 83 workers who were buried in a landslide in Tibet at 6m local time yesterday. The clearance of two million cubic metres of mud and debris is being impeded by cold weather conditions and no survivors have yet been found, officials have said.
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