EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you really need to know as you start your day.
1. #CABINET: Ministers meet today for the last time before the summer break, and are expected to approve a €100-per-household domestic property and water charge. They’ll also discuss the recall of the Papal Nuncio to the Vatican, and the appointment of a new Secretary-General at the Department of the Taoiseach. The previous SG, Dermot McCarthy, could himself be on his way to the Vatican.
2. #RONAN KERR: Five people have been arrested after a major search-and-arrest operation operation in connection with the murder of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr in April. All five were arrested under the Terrorism Act and are being questioned at Antrim police station. A number of items were seized in the coordinated raids.
3. #BANKERS: The financial regulator, Matthew Elderfield, has recommended abolishing the €500,000 pay cap for bank staff – saying the limit is stopping Ireland from attracting top talent. Speaking at the MacGill summer school, Elderfield also said bankers being made redundant could force the State into expensive and lengthy legal battles.
4. #PRIDE: The man designated as Northern Ireland’s next health minister has said he finds the behaviour of people participating in Belfast’s Gay Pride parade, to be held this Saturday, as ‘repugnant’.
5. #MORTGAGES: AIB chairman David Hodgkinson has suggested that the bank may be willing to consider debt forgiveness for mortgage holders, as part of an industry-wide attempt to alleviate the burdens on struggling homeowners. The Irish Times said his proposals would be discussed at Central Bank level today. Yesterday the High Court identified a legal loophole which could strike out many court orders for repossessions.
6. #UNITED STATES: Barack Obama has appealed for public support in pulling together a ‘balanced’ budget plan for the the United States – while Republican Speaker John Boehner said he would not allow Obama to wield a “blank cheque” to spend further. Talks between Democrats and Republicans on a new Budget remain stalled, a week before the country reaches its legal debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion.
7. #NORWAY: The father of Anders Behring Breivik has told a Swedish newspaper he wished his son had turned the gun on himself, instead of orchestrating Friday’s attacks in Norway that killed 76. Candlelit vigils were held across the country last night in memory of the deceased. Books of condolence open across Ireland today.
8. #AMY WINEHOUSE: A private funeral will be held today for the singer Amy Winehouse, who died on Saturday. The Daily Telegraph reports that the singer will be cremated and her ashes mixed with those of her late grandmother Cynthia. An autopsy on her body yesterday was inconclusive in identifying the cause of her death.
9. #MINER HIT: The story of the 33 miners who were rescued from the Chilean underground last autumn is to be turned into a movie. ‘Los 33′ will be written by Jose Rivera, who wrote the screenplay of The Motorcycle Diaries, and production should start in mid-2012.
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