LAST UPDATE | 21 Dec 2023
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. A GP centre in Dublin is refusing to prescribe powerful painkillers like Oxycontin or “highly addictive” benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Xanax.
Today’s lead story details how Rathfarnham Medical Centre told patients it made the decision as these medications are “highly addictive substances” and “can be used as drugs of abuse and sold on the street”.
There have been growing concerns in recent weeks about the sale of opioids and other potent medication on the street following a spike in overdoses in Dublin and Cork.
2. Israel has ordered more evacuations in southern Gaza’s main city as diplomats press on with efforts to secure a pause in the war that Hamas says has claimed over 20,000 lives.
The United Nations said Israel issued evacuation orders on Wednesday for large areas of Khan Yunis, where more than 140,000 displaced people are sheltering.
The UN Security Council is due to try once again today to pass a resolution calling for a halt in fighting after previous efforts to win Washington’s backing fell short.
3. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was “suspicious immediately” during a prank video call by two Russian comedians but needed to “play along for a little while”.
It emerged yesterday that the Taoiseach was the latest politician to fall victim to a prank by a Russian duo who pose as diplomats in order to coax world leaders into gaffes.
In a 13-minute clip, posted to alternative media website Rumble, the Taoiseach answers questions on a number of issues including migration, a United Ireland, the possibility of Ireland joining Nato and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
4. The Government has banned the sale of nicotine inhaling products to people under 18 years of age.
From tomorrow, those who sell such products to children could be fined up to €4,000 or face six months in prison.
The new law comes as a public consultation has been launched to determine a range of stricter regulations on the pricing, display and advertising of e-cigarettes and vapes.
5. Status Yellow wind warnings are in place for the whole country until 8pm.
Met Éireann has said that northwest winds will be very strong at times. It also warned that the winds could lead to debris, loose objects displaced and difficult driving and cycling conditions.
6. Ukraine has said that air defence systems in the capital Kyiv and other locations across the country had downed dozens of Iranian-designed drones launched by Russian forces in Moscow’s latest overnight barrage.
“Russian occupiers attacked with ‘Shahed’ type UAVs from three directions: Chauda – occupied Crimea, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Kursk,” the Ukrainian air force wrote on Telegram.
It said it shot down 34 of the 35 drones, without reporting any casualties.
7. Members of the public are making their way to Newgrange this morning ahead of the winter solstice sunrise.
The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
At sunrise on 21 December, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument, not through the doorway, but through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the roof box, to illuminate the chamber.
8. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country has a policy of not hesitating to launch a nuclear strike on its rivals if provoked, state media has reported.
It comes as he praised troops involved in the country’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile test.
Since adopting an escalatory nuclear doctrine last year, Kim has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons pre-emptively. But many foreign experts say North Korea has yet to obtain functioning nuclear missiles and is also unlikely to use its nukes first because it is outgunned by the US and its allied forces.
9. Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, experienced a global outage on Thursday morning with users briefly unable to see their timelines.
Thousands of people took to the website Downdetector, which tracks online outages, to report issues with the platform’s app and website.
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