EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.
1. #STABBING: A man has died after he was stabbed at a house in Cork in the early hours of the morning. The victim, who was a local man in his early 30s, was taken to Cork University Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. A man and a woman were arrested close to the scene and are being held at the Bridewell Garda station in Cork.
2. #MEDIA: Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte is planning to fast-track legislation on media mergers and takeovers after Denis O’Brien substantially increased his stake in Independent News and Media (INM) during the week, the Sunday Business Post reports. The bill around media mergers was not expected to be passed until the end of the year. The legislation would allow a minister for communications to veto mergers or takeovers if it’s not in the public interest, reports the paper.
3. #RTE: Staying with Pat Rabbitte, the Minister for Communications is set to meet with the board of RTE at 8am on Tuesday morning to discuss the BAI report into the Prime Time Investigates programme ‘Mission to Prey‘. The Minister has refused to be drawn on whether he will be seeking resignations from the board, which is responsible for overall editorial standards and editorial objectivity in RTE.
4. #ELECTIONS: French voters go to the polls today to choose between Nicolas Sarkozy and socialist candidate Francois Hollande for the country’s next president. Opinion polls suggest Sarkozy has narrowed the gap between the two candidates in recent days but Hollande has maintained a slim lead over the incumbent and seems likely to become the country’s first socialist president in 17 years. Greece voters are also going to the polls today for parliamentary elections which are expected to result in a coalition government, with no party winning a majority of the vote.
5. #NAMA: The State faces a bill of up to €5 billion if a legal case being taken by Treasury Holdings against NAMA is successful, according to the Sunday Independent. The paper reports that developers Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett claim NAMA effectively misled them over the bad bank’s intention to take over the company in 2011.
6. #GUANTANAMO: The five men accused of plotting the attacks on 11 September 2001 ignored the judge and refused to cooperate at a court hearing before a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, the Wall Street Journal reports. The prisoners knelt in prayer, refused to answer questions and disrupted the arraignment, which ended up lasting almost 13 hours.
7. #COURTS: Independent TD Thomas Pringle is set to go to the High Court in a bid to force the government to hold a referendum on the European Stability Mechanism treaty. In an interview with the Sunday Business Post, the Donegal South West TD says he believes the ESM treaty and its bailout facility is a breach of the Constitution, and that ESM treaty ratification is unlawful.
8. #LOOSE CHANGE: Could Ireland ever abandon the 1 cent and 2 cent coins? Other European countries have already done away with the small, fiddly, and surprisingly costly-to-produce coins – here, TheJournal.ie looks at whether it’s possible for Ireland to do the same.
9. #SUPERMOON: So, did you spot it? The giant bright super moon was clearly visible in the skies over Ireland last night, appearing larger and brighter than usual because it was closer to the Earth than usual. Thanks to James Murray for sending in this amazing photo from Sandymount in Dublin. Anyone else get any photos? We’ll be doing a slideshow of shots later – send pics to tips@thejournal.ie and we’ll credit you.
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