LAST UPDATE | 23 Jun 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Ukraine

1.  Leaders from around the European Union are convening in Brussels today with one question at the centre of their agenda – whether to name Ukraine as an official candidate for EU membership.

Violence Carries On

2. On the ground in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, massive Russian bombardments are making life “hell”, Kyiv said yesterday, while insisting its soldiers would hold on “as long as necessary”.

Moscow’s troops have been pummelling the battleground Lugansk region and the strategically important city of Severodonetsk for weeks and are slowly advancing, despite fierce resistance from the outgunned Ukrainian military.

Economic Growth

3. The Irish economy looks set to grow significantly despite major external pressures, a new report from the  Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found.

The Youth Vote

4. TDs will this evening debate a bill proposing a referendum on reducing the voting age to 16.

Thomas Pringle, the independent TD who initiated the bill, says he would like to see the referendum held alongside the local and European elections in 2024. 

By-election

5. Over in the UK, voters will go to the polls in by-elections in Wakefield and in Tiverton and Honiton, both triggered after the previous Conservative MPs resigned in disgrace.

Púca

6. The much disputed Púca of Ennistymon has been installed in its new home in the Burren, after it was turned away by locals in the Co Clare town.

Gun Control 

7. The Uvalde school district’s police chief has been placed on leave following allegations his response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead was an “abject failure”.

Trial

8. A judge has ruled that eight medical personnel involved in the care of football star Diego Maradona will face a public trial for criminal negligence.

Weather

9. This morning will be mostly cloudy with patches of mist but through the afternoon a few bright or sunny periods will develop, especially in the southeast.

There will be patchy light rain or drizzle at times in the west and northwest and isolated showers are possible in the east. Highest temperatures will range between 15 and 23 degrees, warmest in Leinster, in a light southwesterly or variable breeze.

Full forecast here.