EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #RUSSIA: The Russian ambassador has labelled as “unwarranted, uncalled for, senseless and regrettable” Ireland’s decision to expel a diplomat over the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

2. #JUSTICE: An independent review into how the Department of Justice identified and sent on relevant documents to the Disclosures Tribunal has found shortcomings in how the department acted but found no evidence to suggest “deliberate concealment or withholding of material”.

3. #SCU: The Strategic Communications Unit is set to be wound down after a review prompted by State-funded advertising for the Project 2040 plan in national media.

4. #NORTH KOREA: China and North Korea confirmed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited China on a secretive state visit, his first official state visit since taking control of the country.

5. #SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: A bill calling for same-sex marriage to be legalised in Northern Ireland has passed its first parliamentary stage in the House of Lords.

6. #RTC: A cyclist was killed after being hit by a truck in Kilkenny yesterday evening.

7. #FEARS: A detective sergeant who was the focus of a prolonged campaign of harassment says he fears for his family if the abuse continues when the man is released from prison.

8. #FIGURES: The CSO is will publish crime figures for the first time in more than a year today, following last year’s revelations that 89 homicides, dating back 14 years, were not counted due to an issue with how they were recorded on the police force’s Pulse database.

9. #BOMBING: A report into the Manchester Arena bombing has found that the fire service “played no meaningful role” in the response to the attack for nearly two hours.