EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #MAGDALENES: Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said there is no possibility of taking legal action against four Catholic religious orders which have refused to give any money to a compensation fund for Magdalene laundry survivors. The Minister also said it would be impossible to strip the orders of their status as charities as some campaigners had suggested, but called on the congregations to rethink their position.
2. #VIOLENT SCENES: Petrol bombs were thrown at police in Belfast last night in the fifth night of disturbances stemming from the 12 July protests. Stormont assembly members have passed a motion criticising the Parades Commission for banning a planned Orange Order march in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
3. #SYRIA: The conflict in Syria has created the world’s worst refugee crisis since the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the United Nations has said. The BBC reports that an average of 6,000 people are fleeing the country every day and an estimated 5,000 people are being killed every month.
4. #EVACUATION: Travellers have been allowed to return to Shannon Airport after it was evacuated due to an unspecified emergency this morning at around 7.45am. A spokesperson for the airport said no flights have been affected by the incident.
5. #DISSIDENTS: The Garda Commissioner has said no dissident shows of force will be allowed at the funeral of Omagh bomb suspect Seamus McKenna which is taking place in Dundalk later today. Dissident republicans from across the country are expected to attend today’s proceedings. McKenna died at the weekend after he was injured in a scaffolding accident.
6. #INDIA: Twenty children have died and 30 more are being treated in hospital in India after eating a free lunch at a primary school which may have contained poisonous chemicals. The children were all under 10 years old.
7. #MEDICAL CARDS: Up to 20,000 people could have their discretionary medical cards cancelled as a result of a ‘buried’ decision from last December’s Budget, Fianna Fáil has claimed.
8. #HACKED: Two students have said that they hacked the Fine Gael website in a “stunt” to embarrass the party ahead of the 2011 general election, the Irish Independent reports. The judge in the case said the offence was a “terrible abuse of talent” and adjourned the case until October when the two will have to bring €5,000 each to court to pay for the damage done to the site.
9. #CAUSE OF DEATH: Glee actor Cory Monteith died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol, a coroner has confirmed. In a statement, British Columbia coroner’s office said there was nothing to suggest the 31-year-old’s death in a Vancouver hotel room was anything other than a tragic accident.
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