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GOOD MORNING

The 9 at 9 Nine things you need to know this morning….

EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #GREECE Market jitters are expected this morning following news that Greece plans to hold a referendum on the proposed bailout agreement made last week in Brussels.  In a move which appears to have surprised many Eurozone leaders, Prime Minister George Papandreou announced a referendum which analysts feel could further undermine efforts to solve the Eurozone debt crisis.

2. #FEES The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has today begun a campaign to pressure the government on its pre-election pledges on third-level fees. The USI accuses sitting TDs of being “liars” after they refused to stand by pre-election promises that student fees would not be increased.

3. #SMALL FIRMS The Small Firms Association says that the rate of job losses in small businesses has slowed over the past three months. Twenty per cent of firms expect to hire permanent staff in the next three months with more than a quarter expected to increase employee numbers next year.

4. #OCCUPY Anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul’s Cathdral in London will today be told to vacate the area or face legal action. The City of London Corporation will hand protesters a letter demanding they pack up within two days or face legal action at the High Court, BBC News reports. Two senior figures at the cathedral have already resigned over the situation.

5. #BONDHOLDERS Meanwhile, Occupy Dame Street protesters have said they will gather outside the Department of Finance later today to demonstrate against the €718 million repayment of an unsecured Anglo Irish Bank bond that is due tomorrow. The Irish movement’s protest is part of growing calls for the government to stop the repayment.

6. #CLAMPING Clamping company workers will have to receive garda clearance before being allowed to operate under proposals being put forward by the government aimed at tackling recent controversies surrounding overly aggressive tactics pursued by clampers. The Irish Independent reports that nearly €5 million in release fees was paid by motorists who were clamped in Dublin last year.

7. #HERMAN HEADACHE The surprise frontrunner in the race to be the Republican Party’s presidential candidate is facing up to accusations of sexual harassment in the 1990s which he has denied but which are threatening to derail his campaign, the New York Times reports. Cain has risen to prominence off the back of his straight-talking style, his radical tax plan and a bizarre campaign ad.

8. #KILL OFF WEASLEY Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed how she seriously considered killing off one of the main characters, Ron Weasley. The Guardian reports that the multi-millionaire author considered killing off the ginger-haired hero halfway through the series “out of sheer spite” saying she “wasn’t in a very happy place” at the time.

9. #IRISH REVOLUTIONARIES A bank manger in Australia stole $40,000 from his own bank but only because he was car jacked by two ‘Irish revolutionaries’ who injected him with poison that could not be cured, he has told a court in Queensland. The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that John Thomas Forrester is on trial for the robbery with a jury to decide whether or not they believe his version of events.

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