EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.
1. #FIREFIGHTERS: An entire crew of 19 firefighters has died battling a fast-moving wildfire in Arizona in what is believed to be the deadliest incident of its kind in the United States in 80 years. The firefighters were killed late on Sunday afternoon as they tried to contain the blaze which started on Friday and which has spread to an estimated 1,000 acres in the area.
2. #GAFFS: House prices continue to drop across the country – except in Dublin, where a report out today has found that prices in parts of the capital have jumped by 12 per cent over the past year. A separate report has found the average asking price for a house in Ireland is now €193,000, while the average house price in Dublin is €238,000.
3. #ANGLO TAPES: President Michael D Higgins has said that the Anglo tapes should not be seen as indicative of the ‘behaviours and attitudes’ of the Irish people in general, and that the tapes do not represent the ‘real story from Ireland’. In the latest details from the taped phone conversations, former Anglo CEO David Drumm and executive John Bowe can be heard talking about the ‘loose’ lending practices of Ireland’s main banks during the boom.
4. #PILL: Six deaths have been linked to the use of the oral contraceptive pill in Ireland since 1992, the junior minister in the Department of Health has confirmed. Two of the deaths involved the use of Yasmin and Yaz, two brands which have been associated with a number of recent deaths in Canada. The women were reported to have died due to clotting-related complications.
5. #RACISM: Five serious incidents of racism are being reported every week, the majority of them involving discrimination or verbal harassment. The Immigrant Council of Ireland said almost one fifth of the cases have taken place on the internet while the same amount have been reported at work.
6. #ABORTION: There is one item on the agenda for the Dáil today: abortion legislation. Beginning at 11am, TDs will spend 8 hours debating the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013, with all deputies to be given speaking time. Separately, a fourth Fine Gael TD has confirmed that he will be voting against the government on the legislation.
7. #WATERFORD: The rally driver who died during a race in Waterford yesterday has been named as Paul Mulcahy. Mulcahy, who became a father for the first time two months ago, was killed in what has been described as a “tragic accident”.
8. #EGYPT: Six people are reported to have died in clashes protesting against Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate. Egypt’s opposition has told the president that he has until tomorrow to resign or else it will step up its campaign of civil disobedience.
9. #DOBRODOSLI!:Croatia officially became the 28th member state of the European Union today after almost a decade of negotiations. The newest EU member held a public celebration in Zagreb last night, with Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore representing Ireland at the event.
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