Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you really need to know with your morning coffee.
1. #POLL: The majority of the public want to see Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny become the next taoiseach, a Sunday Independent/ Millward Brown Lansdowne opinion poll has shown.
The poll indicates that while support for a Fine Gael/Labour coalition still exists, it is waning in favour of a strong Fine Gael government – with 37 per cent support for Fine Gael and a rating of 20 per cent for Labour.
Similarly, the Sunday Business Post’s Red C poll indicates that Fine Gael has solid support, at 39 per cent, while Kenny is the most popular choice for taoiseach (31 per cent).
2. #CAMPAIGN TRAIL: The banking crisis, mortgages and energy will be the issues dominating the campaign trail on the last Sunday before polling day.
Enda Kenny has pledged to create a €350 million jobs budget and abolish travel tax within a hundred days if he is elected, and will arrive at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium to discuss his parties policies later. Eamon Gilmore will be in Cork to speak about Labour’s plan to help mortgage holders in trouble, and Fianna Fáil will discuss its Irish language policy in Navan, RTÉ reports.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin will launch a billboard campaign an end to money going to the banks, and the Greens will announce plans to make Ireland oil-free by 2030.
3. #LIBYA: Efforts are being made to evacuate six Irish citizens who are in the Libyan city of Benghazi – the centre of violent clashes between anti-government protesters and the country’s military.
A total of 40 Irish citizens are known to be in Libya, with most located in near the capital, Tripoli, reports RTÉ.
Up to 104 people are now believed to have been killed in a fierce government crackdown against demonstrations, with witnesses claiming that protesters have been mown down by troops armed with machine guns and heavy machinery.
4. #DERRY: Police in Derry are investigating the death of a man whose body was discovered in the Bayview area of the city, reports RTÉ.
5. #ROADS: Two people have been killed in separate crashes over the weekend.
Last night a driver was killed in Dublin, on the Skerries to Rush road, when his car hit a wall shortly after midnight. Meanwhile, in Co Galway a motorcyclist was killed when his bike collided with a car at around 4.30pm on Saturday on the Galway to Tuam Road, reports RTÉ.
6. #STORMONT: Fears that Stormont will be spit over crucial legislation are growing after the SDLP branded the draft budget lazy and unimaginative, reports the Belfast Telegraph.
The UUP and SDLP were accused of electioneering and adopting populist positions by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. SDLP leader Margaret Ritichie said: “the draft budget we have before us simply does not address the real needs of the North.”
7. #BILBAO: Thousands of people in the Basque city of Bilbao have come out in support of a new separatist group, Sortu.
Supporters are demanding that the group be allowed to run in the forthcoming elections. The group is backed by the political wing of the Basque militant group Eta, reports the BBC.
8. #USA: Republicans have forced through a draconian series of budget cuts worth $61 billion, heightening the chances of President Barack Obama using his veto.
The proposed cuts would target federal money for public broadcasting, environmental programmes, Obama’s healthcare reforms and the family planning organisation Planned Parenthood, reports the Guardian.
9. #RED MEAT: Medical researchers are warning that people should limit their consumption of red and processed meat to reduce the risk of bowel cancer as the result of a new study.
The UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has concluded that no more than 70g/day of red or processed meat should be eaten a day – equivalent to about three rashers of bacon, reports the Telegraph.
The World Cancer Research Fund has already recommended that no more than 500g of red meat should be eaten in a week, the Press Association reports.
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