EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #INVESTIGATION: One man has been arrested in connection with Galway publican John Kenny in Oughterard last weekend. The man, who is in his late 30s, was arrested in Galway city yesterday evening and is being detained in Mill Street Garda station, Galway.
2. #JOBSWATCH: Medical devices company Covidien is to hold meetings with staff unions today, after committing to transfer some positions to Thailand. The company has been in operation in Athlone for 25 years and employs 600 people; it is thought that around 100 jobs stand to be lost.
In better news, PricewaterhouseCoopers has announced it is to create 250 jobs in Belfast.
3. #ROADS: Two men lost their lives in separate road incidents yesterday. A 90-year-old pedestrian male died following an accident near Castlebar, Co Mayo, at around 10.30pm. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, a 49-year-old male motorcyclist was killed in a single-vehicle crash on the N2 at Green castle at around 7.30pm.
4. #HOMELESSNESS: There is not enough accommodation for the homeless in Dublin despite 23,000 apartments lying empty in the area, according to the Dublin Simon Community’s annual report. The organisation said it had to increase emergency beds by almost 100 per cent last year.
5. #STATE ASSETS: The government is to create a new unit that will manage shareholdings in several State companies, RTÉ reports. The Cabinet and Troika officials are continuing talks about expanding the programme for the sale of State assets; while the government has committed to sell €2bn worth of assets, IMF officials are seeking the sales of €5bn.
6. #GERMANY: German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a major test of her authority today, as the German parliament is to cast a vote on expanding the European bailout fund. Members will decide on whether to raise Germany’s liabilities in bailing out other eurozone countries from €123bn to €211bn.
7. # GADDAFI: It is believed that former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is in hiding near the country’s border with Algeria and is being sheltered by Tuareg tribesmen, the Guardian reports. Gaddafi has not been seen since the country’s rebels captured the capital, Tripoli, at the end of August.
8. #TERRORISM: A 26-year-old US man has been arrested and charged with planning an attack on the Pentagon and the US Capitol using remote controlled aircraft packed with explosives. It is alleged that Rezwan Ferdaus, of Ashland, Massachusetts, intended to target the Pentagon and the dome of the US Capitol with the explosive-laden planes measuring between 60 and 80 inches in length.
9. #RIP: Heidi, the German cross-eyed opossum who became an internet sensation, has died. The three-and-half year old was put to sleep yesterday by zookeepers due to her worsening health problems.
In Facebook terms, Heidi was more popular than her country’s chancellor – with 339,869 fans, at the time of writing. Leipzig Zoo director, Jörg Junhold told reporters that keepers had failed to successfully treat maladies, and they wished to put her out of her suffering, NPR reports.
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