EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you really ought to know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #JUNK The Department of Finance has criticised a decision by the credit rating agency Moodys to downgrade Ireland to junk status. Moodys has said that the country is likely to need a second bailout before it can return to the markets. A department spokesperson says that it’s a ‘disappointing development’. Meanwhile it’s reported that a new rescue plan for Greece could cost twice as much as previously expected.
2. #RIOTING Violence broke out across the North last night with the passing of the Twelfth of July Orange Order parades. Petrol bombs and debris were hurled at police in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, while PSNI officers used waters canons and plastic baton rounds to keep the trouble at bay. There was also violence in Derry, Strabane and Ballymena, with several arrests and several police officers injured.
3. #MUPPETS Independent TDs Mick Wallace and Luke Ming Flanagan have been caught out calling Dun Laoghaire Fine Gael TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor ‘Miss Piggy’ in the Dáil. The pair, along with another Independent TD Shane Ross, were within range of a nearby microphone which, unbeknownst to them, was switched on. Wallace and Flanagan were heard laughing over Wallace’s reference to the Fine Gael deputy.
4. #CLOYNE The report into clerical sexual abuse in the diocese of Cloyne will be published this afternoon. It’s expected to be over 400 pages long and will detail complaints about 19 priests over a 13-year period between 1996 and 2009. The HSE has set up a dedicated helpdesk offering support to people who have been affected by clerical child sexual abuse. The helpline will be available on 1800 742800 from 3pm today.
5. #NORRIS A Fianna Fáil Galway city councillor has challenged the Mayor of Galway’s claim that her decision to vote against David Norris being allowed to address the council was a misunderstanding. Michael Crowe says that Hildegarde Naughton had all the details necessary to make her decision. She has said that she will try to rectify the matter. Naughton cast the deciding vote but she says it was an ‘error of judgement’.
6. #NOTW There are calls for the US congress to investigate whether the News International phone hacking scandal spreads to America. A US senator has requested an investigation into whether journalists working for Rupert Murdoch’s company in the US were involved. Meanwhile the British government says it will back a motion calling on News Corporation to withdraw its bid for BSkyB. David Cameron is expected to ‘disown’ Murdoch by leading his party in supporting the motion.
7. #EUROMILLIONS So if you’re waking up this morning and you’re not in the UK, chances are you haven’t scooped the €185 million record EuroMillions jackpot. One lucky winner (or syndicate) is now the 430th richest person on the UK. Never fear though, because one Irish winner has scooped almost €2.5 million after buying a ticket in Dublin.
8. #PHONE WARS Blackberry looks to have the dominance of iPhone and Android in its sights when it comes to the smartphone market. A new operating system and seven new phones are expected from Blackberry in the coming months,with co-CEO Jim Balsillie claiming that the technology will ‘jump a generation’.
9. #GLASS HALF EMPTY A doctor has claimed that advice to drink eight glasses of water a day is a load of old nonsense. Writing in the British Medical Journal Glasgow GP Margaret Mccartney said that several studies have shown that there is no evidence to suggest that there is any benefit to downing large amounts of H2O.
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