LAST UPDATE | 11 Aug 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Weather

1. Met Éireann’s Status Yellow temperature warning comes into effect from midday today, with temperatures expected to reach up to 29 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.

Yesterday was the hottest day in August for 20 years, with the mercury hitting 29.2 degrees in Oak Park in Carlow.

Interim CMO Dr Breda Smyth has urged the public to be “sun smart” by wearing suncream with a high SPF and avoiding the sun in the middle of the day, when it is most harmful.

Commercial buses

2. Students who use private bus companies to travel to college could see their fares cut in half, with the Government planning on cutting the cost before third-level institutions return.

Earlier this year, young people aged between 19 and 23 saw a 50% fare cut on public transport with the introduction of the Young Adult Card.

However, the card doesn’t grant fare reductions on commercial public transport options, which many students use to commute to college on a daily basis.

Gender identity services

3. In our lead story this morning, Michelle Hennessy looks at the impact that changes to UK Gender Identity Services will have on Ireland.

Two weeks ago the NHS in England confirmed it will close its current gender identity centres for children and young people and replace them with a regional network.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, known as ‘the Tavistock’, has also been used to treat Irish children and young people who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Cheap flights

4. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said that the airline’s trademark €1 and €10 flights will disappear for some time due to the rising cost of fuel.

He told BBC Radio 4: “There’s no doubt that at the lower end of the marketplace, our really cheap promotional fares – the €1 fares, the €0.99 fares, even the €9.99 fares – I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years.”

War in Ukraine

5. The UN Security Council is to meet this afternoon to discuss the crisis at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex, the power plant that Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of having bombed.

Ireland is an elected member of the Security Council, for a two-year term which began on 1 January 2021.

Bombings on Tuesday night left at least 14 people dead in southeastern Ukraine near the Zaporizhzhia power plant, the largest in Europe.

UK
6. A man alleged to be the fourth member of a terror cell known as The Beatles has been charged in the UK with terrorism offences.

Aine Davis, 38, was deported to England by Turkish authorities, the Crime Prosecution Service said.

Davis is said to have denied he was part of the Beatles cell – so nicknamed because of their English accents – which tortured and beheaded western hostages in Syria.

Tory leadership race

7. Rishi Sunak is losing his advantage over Liz Truss with the UK public, new polling has found.

A poll from Ipsos showed the proportion of people saying they thought the former Chancellor would make a good prime minister fell from 38% to 32% in the last week of July.

Over the same period, Liz Truss’ figures have remained largely stable at 30%, giving Sunak a lead of only two points over the Foreign Secretary.

Courts

8. A man arrested in connection with the discovery of the body of Sean McCarthy in Drumcondra last weekend has been charged.

The man, aged in his 30s, is due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning.

Sean McCarthy (28) was found dead at an apartment on Achill Road in Drumcondra on Saturday evening.

Donald Trump
9. Former US president Donald Trump has declined to answer questions under oath in New York over alleged fraud at his family business.

Trump said he had “no choice” but to invoke the fifth amendment – which allows individuals to remain silent under questioning to protect against self-incrimination – during the deposition at the New York attorney general’s office.

Pressure is mounting on the 45th president, whose house was raided by the FBI just two days ago in an unrelated search.