LAST UPDATE | 13 Apr
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. Multiple people have been stabbed and a man has been shot dead following a major incident at a shopping centre in Sydney.
Police have cordoned off the area and urged locals against travelling to the mall, near Bondi Beach.
Eyewitnesses said there was panic at the scene, with shoppers running to safety and police trying to secure the area.
2. Half of voters are sceptical about whether the EU should develop its own army according to a new poll.
Overall there is no majority opposition to the idea, while asked directly whether the EU should start developing an EU army, The Journal/Ireland Thinks poll found 35% were in favour, 50% were against and 14% were not sure.
The poll also found that immigration is seen as the priority issue in the European elections, reports Rónán Duffy.
3. After weeks of the Fine Gael show, its coalition partner Fianna Fáil moves back into the spotlight with the party’s Ard Fheis this weekend.
While Fine Gael figures have been speaking about a “new energy” and “getting back to basics”, Micheál Martin’s party will hold debates on housing, with a segment called: “More homes. More homeowners”, along with other discussions on “empowering female candidates” and “artificial intelligence and elections”.
The Tánaiste will give a televised address on RTÉ at 6.30pm.
4. Israel continued to pound Gaza, while US the said it will send reinforcements to deter any reprisals by Iran.
US President Joe Biden said he expected Iran to attempt to strike Israel soon but warned against any retaliation for the 1 April strike on its Damascus consulate.
5. An Irish language organisation has been threatened with legal action by Uisce Éireann over a hefty water bill – but says it won’t pay because it hasn’t received the correspondence it needs through Irish.
Conradh na Gaeilge (CnaG) – an Irish language cultural and social organisation – currently owes €6,686.28 for water services for its business premises in Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
6. Belgium has said it is probing Russian “interference” in the European Parliament following allegations that lawmakers took money to spread Kremlin propaganda ahead of the June EU elections.
The Czech Republic last month said its intelligence service had discovered a network that used EU lawmakers to spread Russian propaganda through the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site.
7. Tánaiste Micheál Martin has indicated that he would support a proposal to postpone the upcoming patent referendum as the Government “need to do more work” to explain what is involved to the public.
The referendum was set to be held in early June alongside the local and European elections.
But the Tánaiste confirmed this evening that newly appointment Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will bring a memo to Cabinet next Tuesday, which is set to ask ministers to decide whether to proceed with the referendum as planned or postpone it.
8. The government is scrapping its Green Paper on Disability Reform following criticism from politicians and activists.
The proposals in the paper included a new tiered system for Disability Allowance and would link level of payments to a determination on capacity to work and the nature of the disability.
It proposed recategorising people who are in receipt of the Disability Allowance.
9. How do you fix Ireland’s emergency departments?
Dr Chris Luke, a former consultant in emergency medicine, has outlined two ways of improving hospital EDs.
Dr Luke says the appointment of patient and staff carers could transform struggling ED care.
“…as a specialist in ‘quick fixes’, I simply offer two remedies that would help to reduce the misery that staff and patients in so many of our EDs must endure daily,” he writes.
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