Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
This five picture combo shows a building collapsing in a cloud of dust and water while being imploded today, in Porto, Portugal. (Image: Paulo Duarte/AP/Press Association Images)
EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five stories you need to know before you head out the door.
1. #BAILOUT: The Eurozone’s finance ministers have agreed to extend the payment dates of Ireland’s European bailout loans. The Eurogroup, meeting in Dublin Castle this morning, agreed to extend the maturities of Ireland’s loans from the EFSF and EFSM bailout funds by an average of seven years.
2. #CROKE PARK II: Members of the Technical, Electrical and Engineering Union (TEEU) have voted against the Croke Park Agreement. Nearly two-thirds of members rejected the proposals (65.6 per cent). A final decision from public workers on whether to back the proposals is likely to be made next week.
3. #RYANAIR: Unions and politicians in Norway have called for a boycott of Ryanair, as two former stewards plan to sue the Irish carrier for unfair dismissal and breaching labour laws. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has rejected accusations that his low-cost airline treated its employees like slaves, as Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said he would never travel with the no-frills airline again.
4. #JOBS: Games company EA have announced that they are cutting a number of jobs at its customer service centre in Galway. While a spokesperson for the company would not disclose the number of jobs that would be lost, TheJournal.ie understands it is just less than 20. The news comes after the company declared last year that it would create 300 new positions in the expansion of its presence in the county.
5. #MORTGAGE ARREARS: A report by the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has found the clients in mortgage difficulty are primarily households with children, located in urban areas and headed up by people between the ages of 45 and 65. The report also uncovered that over a third of all MABS clients with mortgages were living in Dublin, Cork or Galway.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Almost a daily occurrence at this stage….sad stuff!
@Brian McMahon:
Don’t know why you’re getting red thumbs, Brian.
Mass shootings are an almost daily occurrence in the US now.
No Brinster, they’re not. The vast majority of “mass shootings” are gangs taking pot shots at one another with illegal firearms. School shootings are comparatively quite rare which is why they make the news.
@Jason Culligan: once off or single killings involve 7 to 10 shootings per day of children. Over 2,000 children per year are sacrificed on the altar of the 2nd Amendment.
Most gangs engage in single killings at a time, not multiple homocides.
Mass shootings do not happen every day. You should be able to clearly distinguish between someone who intentionally goes out to shoot innocents and between gangs shooting at each other. Why would you put them all in the same category?
This is not totally but almost exclusively happening in the USA and in my opinion the blame falls squarely on the shoulders on the majority of the legislators and politicians in general. The gun laws need to be changed with real radical and imposing leadership. And screw the nra
“screw the nra” the NRA is one of the biggest citizens lobby groups in America. American voters make up their membership (5 million + Americans) and they have every right to join any lobby group of their choice in a democracy.
@James Odin:
Exactly.
The liberal argument against gun ownership is at the point of absurdity now.
‘Guns are evil – ban guns’
Simplistic and weightless.
People always blame the guns but maybe it’s the virulent dog-eat-dog culture in America that is really causing this. If US bullying culture is as prevalent as shown, it isn’t all that surprising that some students lose the plot. Access to guns merely raises the death toll or makes it easier for weak kids to inflict horror.
” Merchants of death, terrorist group, crazy Christian terrorists ” – only a complete fool would call for the death of gun owning Christians while the country is being regularly attacked by Islamic terrorists. A gun is an inanimate object. I never hear people call for a ban on knives when there is a mass stabbing.
On average 7 kids a day shot dead in the US
How many of them are due to irresponsible gun owners leaving firearms out in the open? Mandatory training would solve the vast majority of those cases.
@Jason Culligan: with 350 million guns, it is inevitable that children will always obtain access to guns. Remember that we are dealing with gun owners. This would not be a segment of the population which consists entirely of sane, sensible, responsible and conscientious persons.
@ Jaso,” Mandatory training ” like what..maybe call it common sense, keep it where nobody else will find it, but “USA” is so full of parnoia…how do dislodge that phobia.
Paranoia
Who gives a toss anymore. Seriously. They like their guns..Let them at it.
Fair point but there are a lot of Americans that would prefer a country without the access to weapons that’s currently afforded. Gotta have sympathy for them and the threat they have to live under.
It’s quite obvious at this point that arming school teachers in America is the only way to stop these kinds of random attacks.
If disgruntled students know that all staff at the academy are carrying guns then they will be deterred from even attempting such a scenario.
Time for change.
Yeah more gun, just what’s needed.
@Sam Palmer:
You want school teachers in elementary (primary) schools to have guns?
And you think this will make things safer?
Christ.
You’re either a troll or an idiot Sam.
Or maybe a little of both.
I second that proposition Sam. It is clear that nothing else is working and you won’t in a million years be able to ban guns in America in totality. Training and arming teachers maybe the only real workable solution at this point.
@Brinster:
Teachers are responsible citizens, Arming them will carry no threat whatsoever to the public.
But it would certainly act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of going on the rampage in a school.
@James Odin:
Why stop at the teachers, James?
If we arm the children, then everyone will be deterred from messing with them, won’t they?
It’s all about the psychology.
@Sam
Ah – you’re a troll. No real person could be that stupid. Will ignore you in future.
@Brinster:
‘If we arm the children, then everyone will be deterred from messing with them, won’t they?’
What an utterly ridiculous argument.
Children are not responsible citizens, teachers are.
@Brinster:
No skin off my nose if you do. Arguing with anti gun people is a waste of time anyway.
Brinster, arming young children is beyond foolish although I sense you are being facetious. Teachers are trusted and responsible members of the community who have to undergo police vetting etc before starting a job so I cant see a problem in training and arming them to protect children. Alternatively perhaps they could invest in armed security guards or cops for protection.
Trollie troll troll. Trollista trollio troll. T-rollllll.
teaching is gone too far..if the kids dont want to learn then let them stay at home or on the streets or slums. simple as that
Actually there are 300 millions guns in America today, twice as many as in 1968.
Guns will never, I repeat, NEVER, be outlawed in America.
So you guys arguing against guns are pi** ing in the wind I’m afraid.
Correct. People who think they can confiscate every gun in circulation from American citizens are incredibly ignorant of the realities of the situation and are not serious about solving the problem.
@James Odin: But arguing for even more guns is hardly going to stem the chronic tide of gun violence now is it?.
Well that’s a ridiculous argument. Lawyers are responsible citizens and yet one of them committed a mass shooting a few days ago. Anyone can have a mental breakdown, especially if they are in a stressful job. I’m sure teaching can be stressful at times.
But surely Sam the very least that could be done is to have proper background checks done on those buying guns. There are measures that could and should be taken to try to stem the tide of every tom, dick and Harry being able to buy a gun. I don’t know how anyone could think that’s unreasonable.
Really? Was it not the son of a teacher in Sandy Hook Elementary who went on a shooting spree- with his mother’s guns!!
The police are “responsible citizens” and they never kill innocent people, do they. Bullets flying around a school would doubtlessly lead to more dead and injured students. Not to mention the possibility of a disgruntled student getting hold of a teachers gun. I have several friends who teach in the USA, one of them in Littleton Colorado, home of Columbine. Not one of them want to be armed and most would leave the profession if they were forced to. Teachers are paid to teach, a difficult enough job, not to be police.
Stupidity beyond belief. Are you really suggesting that as part of a teacher’s job description they should be forced to carry a gun and have a mentality that they would have no hesitation in shooting a student if they reach into their school bag for book Just in case it’s a gun. Isn’t that what the police do now if your black and reach onto your car? In case you are not aware 1) Not all people want to carry a gun and should not be forced to do so. 2) Gun have only two purposes one to seriously injure somebody or two kill somebody. And you think guns don’t kill and by having more guns Will solve the problem .lol Definitely a troll or a victim of the American education system.
Your stupidly is alarming. Yeah because all teachers are such straight up people that would never stab his wife and kids.
“A coroner has said that the students ‘ injuries do not appear to be life threatening”. Role of a coroner… “The coroner’s jurisdiction is limited to determining who the deceased was and how, when and where they came by their death. When the death is suspected to have been either sudden with unknown cause, violent, or unnatural, the coroner decides whether to hold a post-mortem examination and, if necessary, an inquest.” Why was a coroner commenting in the first place?
My thoughts exactly, no dead bodies so no reason for a coroner!
My thoughts exactly, no dead bodies so no reason to have coroner!
Ah, there’s two of you!!!
Pro-lifers support liberal access to guns.
@brinster good man I’m always ignoring the mentally deranged troll’s. Can’t imagine they have any friends in the real world it’s probably the only outlet they have. So maybe a bit of pity should be felt… But then again maybe not.
In a conflict between children with guns and pupils with guns, I think that the children will win because the children vastly out number the teachers and have the advantage of surprise and ambush.
Americans should start reporting news about days that no shootings happen. That will some as more of a shock that hearing this.
have your say