LAST UPDATE | 26 Oct 2023

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

EU Council meeting

1. In our main story this morning, political editor Christina Finn reports that a tense couple of days are ahead for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as he travels to Brussels today to the first scheduled European Council meeting since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

Ireland is seen as somewhat of an outlier among EU states Europe in terms of its position on Palestine, and Varadkar has been critical of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s stance on the conflict in recent weeks. 

Maine shooting

2. In the US, at least 22 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in shootings in thecity of Lewiston, Maine, media has reported. 

Police were searching for the man who opened fire at two locations in the Maine city.

Gaza raids

3. Israeli tanks took  part in a “targeted raid” overnight in northern Gaza, the army has said in a statement.

This comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is readying a ground war in Gaza, pressing ahead with plans that have troubled allies and threaten to worsen an already cascading humanitarian crisis.

Waste water

4. Over half of Ireland’s waste water discharges are not meeting EU standards, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency.  

The EPA said however that progress had been made by Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) – the state’s water utility – in stopping discharges of raw sewage over the past year.

Migrant nurses

5. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland has agreed to extend the validity of English language tests for overseas nurses who have been offered jobs here, but have been delayed in coming here due to a logjam with visa processing. 

A group of roughly 1,000 nurses have been affected by the issue since the start of this year, as many have faced multiple visa rejections from the Department of Justice, despite having secured jobs in Ireland. 

Irish in Lebanon

6. Irish citizens in Lebanon have been advised to leave immediately while commercial flights are available.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised Irish people in Lebanon to leave as a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Government jet

7. Varadkar has had to make alternative travel arrangements to get to Brussels today due to the government’s Learjet and the Air Corps PC-12 plane being out of action.

It is understood the government has now had to lease a private jet for the Taoiseach and his delegation who are travelling to a European Council meeting tomorrow. 

Hurricane Otis

8. Hurricane Otis tore across Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a powerful and dangerous Category 5 hurricane yesterday.

The hurricane has unleashed massive flooding in the resort city of Acapulco and people took to looting as desperate victims waited long periods for help to arrive.

Fatal collision

9. A man in his 50s who was travelling on an e-scooter has died after being struck by a van.

Gardaí are currently at the scene of the collision, which occurred yesterday evening in Riverstown, County Sligo around 8.10pm.