Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you really need to know as you start your day.
1. #GE11: Trade unions are urging their members to vote against Fine Gael in the general election.
Union members have been warned of the “dangers” of voting Fine Gael and urged instead to vote “Left” – particularly for Labour, reports the Irish Independent.
Meanwhile, Enda Kenny has apologised to the Congress chief David Begg after the Fine Gael website named trade unions as one of the biggest vested interests responsible for the economic crisis, reports the Irish Examiner.
2. #GE11: Young voters are planning to go against the trends shown in recent election polls by backing Labour more strongly than expected, according to an Irish Examiner/Red C poll.
The poll, carried out on 18-34 year olds, found that younger voters intend to give their preferences equally to Fine Gael and Labour, with 25 per cent voting for each party. This is 5 per cent more than general polls indicate will back Labour and 13 per cent less than other polls have indicated will vote Fine Gael.
3. #GE11: Fianna Fáil are to target core voters this weekend in an attempt to prevent an electoral meltdown.
The Irish Times reports that Micheál Martin is to deliver a speech to his party’s grass roots in a bid to attract traditional FF voters back before polling next week. “He will be making a direct appeal to the grass roots to return enough TDs to allow Micheál Martin to rebuild it once the election is over,” said a strategist to the newspaper last night.
4. #FISHERMAN: The search for a fisherman who went missing off the Wexford coast yesterday will resume today.
John Ennis, in his early 60s, has been missing since his boat sank yesterday. The boat was found in between Duncannon and Arthurstown some time later, RTÉ reports.
5. #MAYO: A man has died after the car he was driving hit a ditch near the village of Bohola, Co Mayo, at around midnight last night.
Gardaí say that diversions will be in place for several hours on a section of the road between Swinford and Ballavarry today, reports RTÉ.
6. #VULNERABLE: An internal HSE report has revealed that vulnerable teenage girls under state care were left alone in hostels with no qualified child care staff to supervise them.
The Irish Examiner reports that some hostels had no supervision on the weekends, no security staff from 8pm to 8am, and no visitors’ room – meaning non-residents could wander in and out of residents’ rooms.
7. #LIBYA: At least 46 people have been killed in clashes between anti-government protesters and the army in Libya – however a leading human rights group has estimated that as many as 85 could now be dead.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said that 35 people died on Friday alone, reports Sky News.
Inspired by the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Libyans are demanding that Muammar al-Gaddafi, the country’s leader since 1969, be deposed from power. Demonstrators have been warned there will be a violent repression of protests.
8. #BAHRAIN: Doctors in Bahrain have suggested that the country’s authorities have employed a shoot-to-kill policy, after they have treated many people for gunshot wounds to the head and chest in recent days.
At least five people have been killed in violent clashes over the past number of days, as demonstrators demand the immediate resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, reports the BBC.
9. #BAD HABIT? A Spanish nun who spent much of her time on Facebook has been kicked out of her convent because of her online activity.
María Jesus Galán lived at the convent in Toledo for 35 years but was evicted for spending too much time on the social networking site. The 54-year-old had almost 600 Facebook friends at the time of her eviction, and now new Facebook pages to support her have been created.
However,Galán seems to be taking the move in her stride, reports the Daily Mail: ”I would like to visit London and New York,” she posted on her page. “Such things were impossible to even dream when at the convent”.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say