EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you should know as you start your day.
1. #ARREARS: The Keane report on mortgage arrears, which was presented to cabinet yesterday, is due to be published this morning and debated in the Dáil next week. However, the Taoiseach indicated in the Dáil yesterday that the report will not recommend a widespread write-down of distressed mortgages.
2. #US ALERT: The US has accused Iran of plotting to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington and is warning US citizens to consider the US State Department’s travel advice before “making decisions concerning their travel plans and activities while abroad”. Iran denies the allegations.
3. #BUDGET 2012: The social welfare budget cut be cut by as much as €1 billion in December’s Budget, according to the Irish Times, but it is not clear yet where the cuts required to meet Ireland’s deficit targets will fall. The Carers Association has launched its pre-Budget submission and is appealing against further cuts to “vital” social welfare payments and services to carers.
4. #EUROZONE: The Slovakian government fell yesterday as its parliament rejected Eurozone bailout expansion plans, but the bill is expected to be passed later this week. The second vote, which has not been scheduled yet, is believed to have the support of the opposition party.
5. #NEW ZEALAND: The captain of the ship which ran aground off the coast in New Zealand, sparking the country’s worst maritime pollution, has been charged with operating a vessel causing unnecessary danger or risk to a person or property and could face further charges. The New Zealand Herald reports that cracks in the vessel appear to be getting worse, increasing the danger of the ship breaking up and spilling much more fuel into the sea.
6. #CYBER SAFETY: A study commission by the ISPCC has found that up to one in six secondary school students had met a stranger in person that they had initially met online, only to discover that the person had in some way misrepresented themselves. The Examiner reports that the study found that parents had little control over their children’s online use because they were accessing the internet on mobiles or on computers in their own room.
7. #NEW SCHEME: Fáilte Ireland has announced a new scheme under which 12 scholarships are being offered to foreign teachers of the English language to live and work in Ireland. The organisation says it hopes that students will follow their teachers in coming to Ireland.
8. #RANDOM TASK: Former actor Joe Son, who played Random Task in the first of the Austin Powers films, has been accused of killing his cellmate while serving a life sentence for violently attacking a woman on Christmas Eve 1990, according to the the LA Times.
9. #LOST: A US couple who thought it might be fun to try out a corn maze at a visitors’ farm became so lost that eventually they called police for help. Dialling 911, the distressed caller said that the couple and their three-week-old baby were lost in the dark in the maze. A police and dog unit managed to track the couple down and help them out of the maze, according to CBS Boston.
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