EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #BUS ÉIREANN: Services at the country’s main bus company, Bus Éireann, are being widely affected by strike action being taken by members of the National Bus and Rail Union. All out strike began at midnight following cuts to premium pay and an increase in some working hours in a bid to save €5 million which the transport company says is necessary for it to remain viable. Here’s how services are affected today.

2. #DEATH: An-eight-year-old boy has died after he was hit by a SUV in the car park of a rugby club in Wexford. The boy died from injuries sustained in the incident which happened just after 7pm last night.

3. #TEA: Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin has said that he has resolved many an important economic issue with his colleague Finance Minister Michael Noonan over a cup of tea. Howlin told TheJournal.ie in an interview this week that one minister could not have coped with both his and Noonan’s portfolios which is why the Department of Finance was split into two when the government came into office.

4. #CHILD BENEFIT: Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has reportedly told Labour party colleagues that the government will make no further cuts to child benefit. Sarah McInerney reports in the Sunday Times that Gilmore’s comments came on foot of his Labour Cabinet colleague Ruairí Quinn’s suggestion that a cut to child benefit could fund a second free pre-school year.

5. #DRUMM: The former chief executive of the defunct Anglo Irish Bank, David Drumm, is reported to be seeking a settlement with his old employer over outstanding loans and other matters. Ian Kehoe reports in the Sunday Business Post that US-based Drumm has engaged in “tentative” talks with the bank now known as Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

6. #PAKISTAN: Early projections from elections in Pakistan suggest that the country’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is set to return to power with his Muslim League party holding a big lead. His election marks the first ever transition from one civilian government to another in the country’s history and is a remarkable comeback given Sharif was overthrown in a coup 14 years ago.

7. #BULGARIA: Polls have opened in Bulgaria where parliamentary elections are taking place amid controversy over 350,000 illegal ballots which were seized yesterday. No outright winner is predicted in the poll which is being overseen by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe whose missions is being led by Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy.

8. #BEDROOM TAX: A woman in the UK blamed a controversial government measure, which has been dubbed the ‘bedroom tax’, for her decision to take her own life. Sky News reports that Stephanie Bottrill killed herself and wrote in her final letter that she blamed the government for the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ which has seen many people in social housing who have a spare room losing part of their subsidy.

9. #FERGIE: After 27 years, Sir Alex Ferguson will wave goodbye to Old Trafford today as he prepares for his side’s final home game against Swansea where they will lift the Premier League, his 13th in a trophy-laden career. Our colleagues at TheScore.ie will be keeping you up to date on that and the day’s other sporting events.