EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories, a little before nine, you need to know with your morning coffee.

1.#REJECTED: A pro-life society at the University of Limerick has become the first club ever to be rejected by the clubs and societies council. After 22 members of the council voted against it, chairman of the society, Manuel Kuhs, said “there has been no explanation so far” about why so many members objected to the society.

2.#CRIMEA: Ratings agencies have begun downgrading Russia’s credit rating as the US and EU extend sanctions on Russian individuals. Fitch says that investors are reluctant to lend to Russia.

3.#HE’S OFF: Roscommon- South Leitrim TD Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan has thrown his hat in the ring for the European Parliament race in Midlands-North West. Flanagan says that the EU ‘needs to go back to being a community’.

4.#SEARCH: Efforts to find a missing fisherman in Lough Rea will resume this morning. Two men were rescued, but one man remains missing after their boat capsized in windy weather.

5.#MH370: Australian military and air force crews are continuing the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The search continues as the families of those on board vent their anger towards Malaysian officials.

6.#ARRESTED: Two teens are being held in relation to a viral video that showed a 30-year-old Brazilian man being kicked in the face on St Patrick’s Day. Gardaí arrested the 16- and 17-year-olds last night.

7.#WHISTLEBLOWER: Garda whistleblower John Wilson is recovering from surgery to treat bowel cancer, the Irish Daily Star reports. The paper quotes Wilson’s wife as saying the stress of the controversy around Wilson has “brought on” the cancer.

8.#ANIMAL SALES: Two websites have defended themselves from criticism surrounding their allowing the sale of animals. The DSPCA said that around 11,000 animals are for sale on DoneDeal.ie and BuyandSell.ie on any given morning, but both websites say that they support the work of animal charities.

9.#ASYLUM: The crisis in Syria saw a one-third rise in the number of people seeking asylum in the EU last year.  In Ireland, the number remained at 940 for the second year running, the first time that numbers have not fallen since 2006.