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EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #NEWTOWN: Vigils have been held overnight in Newtown, Connecticut, as the local community, and the world at large, continues to come to terms with the deaths of 20 schoolchildren between the ages of five and 10. Six adults were also shot dead, before the gunman turned the gun on himself. The shootings took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. A tearful President Obama said that “meaningful action” needed to be taken to prevent further shootings.
2. #EGYPT: Polling stations have opened in Egypt as the country votes on a new constitution. President Mohamed Mursi has been criticised for what certain elements within the country believe is a constitution that does represent all of Egypt. The second round of votes are set to take place next Saturday, 22 December.
3. #BUS ÉIREANN: Strikes could be on the cards at the company following proposed changes to the terms and conditions for staff at the company, the Irish Independent reports. Cuts in overtime, as well as shift, premium and rota payments, in addition to annual leave, are set to come into effect from 13 January 2013.
4. #LABOUR: Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said that his party will remain in coalition, despite controversies this week which saw the current Chairperson of the party, Colm Keaveney, vote against the Budget’s Social Welfare Bill. RTÉ have reported that Gilmore said that his party “is not going to flinch” and would continue to make the tough decisions which lie ahead. Keaveney has said that he has no intention of vacating his position.
5. #MEMORIAL: A memorial service has been held at the King Edward VII hospital in England, following the death last week of nurse Jacintha Saldanha. Responding to reports that the hospital had not been suitably supportive of her following the hoax phone call from two Australian radio DJs, the chief executive of the hospital, John Lofthouse, said that they had stood by her judgement, BBC News reports. Further memorials are set to take place today.
6. #DAMAGES: A women has been awarded €170,000 in damages after her baby was delivered stillborn. RTÉ news reports that Fiona Ní Chonchubhair, 36, travelled 110km in an ambulance which had no blood transfusion on board, when she experienced difficulties while 32 weeks pregnant.
7. #FLOODING: Flood defences are set to remain in place over the weekend, according the Met Éireann. This follows yesterday’s alert for the south and east coasts of the country.
8. #APPOINTMENT: The Church of Ireland is set to enthrone Dr Richard Clarke as its new leader today at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh. Clarke had been appointed the Archbishop of Armagh in October.
9. #WORLD WAR II: Newly released files have revealed Ireland’s surveillance activities during the second World War. The documents show how both non-Irish and Irish were kept under watch by the state, the IRA sympathisers who were among them, attempts to turn Ireland into a fascist state, and the beginnings of Britain’s wartime recruitment within the 26 counties.
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Of course Gilmore will stay in Government.
Nurses: Stand by your newly qualified colleagues and WORK TO RULE.
This idiotic idea by the HSE/government to treat nurses like interchangeable serving maids who can be just shoved anywhere has got to be stopped.
The arrogance in saying the nurses would gain valuable experience from this deal. Why cant they gain experience in proper jobs worthy of their 4 years study and graft?
Look after the graduate nurses, they are our future
Think the writings on the wall for Lord Gilmore’s leadership of Labour. He peaked as a second string leader in opposition and become pretty much totally ineffective in government. Keaveney has pulled a master stroke this week knowing it will take a party convention to remove him from his position as chairperson of the party and calling such a convention would almost certainly mean a challenge to Gilmore’s leadership and a likely to fail ballot on the parties continued membership in government. If I was to guess I’d say Ruari Quinn and Joan Burton will run for the leadership and if its an opt out of government a snap election is on the way.
Gilmores attitude is the same as Cowen and fianna fail in their dying days, completely delusional and with a bad case of denial, see ye later Labour and take fine gael with ye right after new year ;)
Deepest sympathy to the families effected by yesterdays tragedy in connecticut. No statement of sympathy from kenny or gilmore i notice. Doesn’t surprise me, they obviously despise children and the people who have them. If it had happened here they’d have their calculators out, totting up how much it would save them on child benefit payments.
You should just have sent sympathy to the families and not dragged irish politics into your comment. There is plenty of room on this page to keep the two separate. Disgusting.
Oh dave harris, is that what he’s on about??? That is indeed a huge leap. No everlast, I’m most definitely not. Strange that you would deduce this from my comment?
In support of fine gael? Heh… No!
Whooooooosh….
Jayzuz Everlast – you have taken one almighty leap from Maxine’s comment which suggests she is pissed off at the reductions in child payment/education/healthcare and the rest of it -to the loony anti abortion twits putting up posters mentioning Shatter.
No connection there at all
The woosh is the tumbleweeds in yr head me thinks
‘They obviously despise children…’ And they’d be totting up how much money they’d save because of the deaths?
Quite a connection methinks..
I’m deeply insulted, my comment was primarily about sympathising with the usa for the shock and loss they must be feeling today, secondarily it was to point out that our heads of government showed in the budget that they see children in general as a burden on the economy. As the mother of a chronically ill child, the budget was particularly severe for us, and gave us a very clear message that the children of Ireland, specifically the sick ones and their carers, are of no value and are a burden the state would prefer not to have.
I am also a woman, who has a right to choose what she wants to do with her own body. I’m disgusted that you would turn my comment into an argument about abortion… Some people are just so totally absorbed with their own agenda that they see nothing else. You are doing the pro-choice campaign no favours by attacking a woman who is pro-choice for making comments that have nothing to do with the abortion issue.
have your say