EVERY MORNING TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning coffee.

1. #IRENE US president Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Irene zeroes in on the east coast of the US. More than two million people have been told to evacuate. Heavy winds and rain have already lashed the North Carolina coast. At least 6,100 flights have been cancelled, including Aer Lingus flights to and from JFK airport in New York.

2. #STABBING A man has been stabbed to death in Tallaght. The 23-year-old was found at the Cushlawn Dale Estate just after midnight and was pronounced dead in hospital.

3. #NUROFEN PLUS The Irish Medicines Board has decided to initiate a precautionary recall of packs of Nurofen Plus from Irish wholesalers. The recall comes in the wake of a complete recall in the UK over fears that the painkillers have been sabotaged with anti-psychotic drugs. The IMB says there is no evidence that packs in Ireland are affected, but that all packs will now be checked.

4. #LIBYA The UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon is seeking the deployment of a major UN mission to help deliver emergency aid and help with a democratic transition in Libya. He has said that the fighting has entered a “new and decisive phase”, while shocking scenes have been reported in Tripoli.

5. #ROAD DEATH A cyclist has been killed after a road collision in Co. Kerry. The man died after being struck by a car at Fossa yesterday evening.

6. #POSTERS Fine Gael and Labour have dismissed calls to ditch their election posters for this October’s presidential election, after broadcaster Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh – who yesterday ruled himself out of the running - called for candidates not to put up posters. Independent candidate Seán Gallagher said yesterday that he supported the call.

7. #HEALTH INSURANCE Irish people are letting their private health insurance fall by the wayside as the recession continues to bite. According to the Irish Examiner 43,000 people stopped paying for health insurance in the first six months of the year.

8. #MARCHES The UK Home Secretary Theresa May has agreed to a police request to ban a march by the far right English Defence League through one of the UK’s biggest Muslim communities.

9. #FACEBOOK A judge in Missouri in the US has blocked a law from taking affect which would have prohibited teachers from conducting private conversations with students on Facebook. The judge said that the law would have a “chilling effect” on free speech rights.