GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.

Easing

1. Our day begins with good news as we report on the further of easing of restrictions as NPHET give us all a light at the end of the tunnel in the coming months. 

International travel will return for non-essential reasons from 19 July after the government’s sub-committee on Covid-19 discussed a range of measures as part of the easing of restrictions over the next few months.

Indoor dining will return from 5 July and outdoor events can have 5,000 spectators from 2 August.  

Poots

2. Then in less positive news Edwin Poots launched a scathing attack on Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney.

The new leader of the DUP, after his ratification as DUP leader last night, described his relationship with the Dublin Government as “really, really bad”.

Poots, who has replaced the outgoing Arlene Foster as leader, said that he has respect for Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

But he took aim at Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, both of whom were key figures in the Brexit negotiations under the last Irish Government.

Homeless

3. The sight of wooden hoardings erected over a doorway where a homeless man was known to sleep in Dublin has caused anger.

We look at the reports and find claims that it was placed there as part of preparations to allow the building to host Leaving Certificate exams.

The doorway at Rathmines College of Further Education on Leinster Road was covered with wooden hoardings last weekend, prompting an outcry on social media.

The location had been frequented by a man who slept rough, who was well-known by locals and was regularly spotted sleeping in the doorway overnight. 

Democracy

4. In Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to more jail time over his role in an anti-government protest in 2019.

Lai and nine others were charged with incitement to take part in an unauthorised assembly when they walked down a road with thousands of residents on October 1, 2019, to protest against dwindling political freedoms in Hong Kong.

The 73-year-old was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Smoking

5. The scourge of smoking makes another one of our stories this morning as an analysis of global data has shown that almost 90% of smokers began smoking by the age of 25. 

Research published in The Lancet and The Lancet Public Health journals shows that smoking resulted in almost eight million deaths in 2019. 

Three new studies by the Global Burden of Disease collaboration used data from more than 3,600 national surveys to estimate smoking prevalence in 204 countries in people aged 15 and over. 

The studies found that the number of smokers around the world increased to 1.1 billion in 2019, with tobacco smoking leading to 7.7 million deaths that year alone. 

Court

6. A jury has been sworn in the trial of three men and four women accused of sexually abusing three children in Munster.

The seven accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, include the parents, grandmother and several aunts and uncles of the three main child complainants.

The Central Criminal Court heard that both parents are also accused of wilfully neglecting two further child complainants.

The seven accused deny the allegations against them. The accused range in ages from 27 to 57 and live in various locations in Munster.

Shooting

7. A man in his thirties has been charged and due in court this morning in relation to a firearms incident in Blanchardstown earlier this week where two detective gardaí were shot.

The two officers in their 30s suffered gunshot injuries during the incident which saw a man barricade himself in his home in Whitechapel, Dublin 15. 

One garda suffered gunshot injuries to his hand and foot. Another garda suffered injuries to his foot. 

Giggs

8. Former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs will appear in court accused of deliberately headbutting his ex-girlfriend and controlling her throughout their relationship.

It is alleged that Giggs, 47, assaulted Kate Greville, 36, and caused her actual bodily harm at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on November 1 last year.

The Wales boss is also said to have engaged in controlling and coercive behaviour towards her between December 2017 and November 2020, namely that he used violence, isolation, belittling, humiliation, harassment, degradation and abuse.

He has denied both allegations and previously issued a statement in which he said he would “look forward to clearing my name”.

Consumer Sentiment

9.

In our Morning Memo business newsletter we ask the question: How cautious will consumers be once restrictions are substantially lifted in the coming weeks?

Going on the evidence from Christmas, the answer is not very much at all. But new ESRI research suggests that if daily case numbers remain at an elevated level, Irish people might be less willing to return to the high street, pubs and restaurants than you might think.

Also this morning, we take a look at the cryptocurrency boom and the ongoing global shortage of microchips. Are Bitcoin miners to blame?

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