EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #THE LETTER A ‘secret’ letter from Jean-Claude Trichet to then-Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in 2010 threatened to cut off emergency funding to Irish banks unless Ireland applied for a bailout and introduced austerity.

2. #WATER CHARGES The Economic Management Council is to meet this morning to discuss water charges. The meeting comes after last night’s protests in Coolock, where anti-water charge protesters were arrested.

3. #EQUALITY A Belfast bakery that refused to bake a cake that had a gay marriage slogan on it has been told to pay compensation or face a court case.

4. #LUXLEAKS It has emerged that more than 300 companies have avoided tax by brokering secret deals with Luxembourg. Leaked documents show companies funnelled billions through Luxembourg to wipe tax.

5. #SKULL A skull was found in a field in Swords by workmen doing excavation work in Waterside, near Malahide in Dublin. Gardaí are investigating.

6. #DRUGS A man is to appear before Dundalk District Court today charged with the seizure of €750k of heroin from a car on Monday.

7. #SHOCKING The drummer with legendary rock band AC/DC, Phil Rudd, was accused Thursday of trying to hire a hitman to kill two men after police raided his luxury New Zealand home.

8. #HOSPITALS Emergency department overcrowding is worsening, according to latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. It says that there was a 34% increase of people on trolleys in October 2014 compared to October 2013.

9. #WATCH OUT In work today? Be careful – Thursday is the most likely day of the week for workplace accidents, according to the Injuries Board.