EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you really need to know as you start your day.
1. #NORWAY: Anders Behring Breivik will today tell a Norwegian court that he was behind Friday’s shooting and bomb attacks in Oslo – but is likely to plead not guilty to criminal charges, believing he has done a service to his country. One journalism student has written about his “extremely lucky” escape from the Utøya Island shootings, revealing that he was only diverted from the island because he had been sent to photograph a football match. Yesterday the country held special services to mourn the 93 who died.
2. #BANK OF IRELAND: A week after securing a deal to save €700m-or-so on Ireland’s bailout interest, this morning there’s another shot in the arm for the taxpayer – the government has reached a deal with a group of private investors to plough €1.12bn into Bank of Ireland. The deal means that the public’s bill to save the bank is reduced by €245 for every man, woman and child in Ireland.
3. #BUDGET 2012: There’s a small bit of good news elsewhere too. The Irish Independent reports that December’s Budget will roll the property tax and the new water charge into a single payment of €100. Fionnán Sheahan’s report says the proposal is going to Cabinet this week. It had previously been thought that households would pay large amounts for each separate charge.
4. #DEVICE: Three men have been arrested following a car bombing attack in Ballyfermot last night. The three men, aged in their 20s, were arrested shortly after 11pm last night after the attack on Thomand Road, which caused substantial damage to the car.
5. #FIREARMS: One in six people in County Fermanagh are legally registered owners of firearms – the highest rate of firearm ownership anywhere in Northern Ireland. Figures obtained by the Irish News (subscription required) reveal that, on average, one out of every 29 people has registered the ownership of a firearm.
6. #SCHOOLS: Clonmel Circuit Court will today issue its ruling on whether a local school is permitted to stop a local Traveller from enrolling in the school. The Christian Brothers High School refused to enrol the teenager because his father was not a past pupil, but was told by the Equality Authority that it must review its admissions policy.
7. #IN THE MONEY: There’s earnings news from both AIB and Ryanair this morning. AIB has announced a profit of €2.24bn for the first half of the year – though when the State’s cash injection and the sale of its Polish arm are taken off, that turns into a €2.6bn loss. Ryanair, meanwhile, has reported profit of €139m for the months between April and June, and expects to turn a full-year profit of around €400m.
8. #DSK: The hotel maid who accuses Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her in a New York hotel has given her first public interview. Nafissatou Diallo told Newsweek she wanted to counter inaccurate media portrayals presenting her as a part-time prostitute.
9. #BLUE MONDAY: If you’re struggling to crack a smile this morning, fear not – it may be science’s fault. The Mirror reports a study by Marmite which has shown that most people can’t bear to smile until after 11am on a Monday, such is their grumpiness at having to say goodbye to the weekend.
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