EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #HEALTH: Obesity costs Ireland more than €1.1 billion every year, according to new research released today by University College Cork. Absenteeism and reduced productivity related to obesity or being overweight costs €728 million every year with back pain found to be the main reason for missing work.
2. #HSE: The HSE is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a newborn baby who died in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin last week. RTE reports that the baby was delivered by Caesarean section in Cavan General Hospital but was moved to the Rotunda when he was found to be seriously ill, where he died a short time later.
3. #ROADS: Treacherous conditions have led to a number of crashes on the country’s roads this morning, with AA Roadwatch and Gardaí warning motorists to take extra care amid reports of icy patches and freezing fog.
4. #X CASE: TDs will vote this evening on a proposed bill to legislate for the X Case put forward by former Socialist Party TD Clare Daly. The bill is unlikely to pass after government TDs signalled that they will vote against it. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter asked Daly to withdraw the bill after telling the Dáil that it was well-intentioned but ‘defective’.
5. #ARRESTS: Four people have been arrested in Offaly by Gardaí investigating the activities of dissident republicans. The four – three men and one woman – were arrested by Gardaí from the special detective unit last night and two firearms were recovered at the scene.
6. #COURTS: The High Court in Dublin will today hold the initial hearing of a defamation case being brought by Louis Walsh against the publisher of the Sun newspaper over a debunked story the newspaper ran last year which alleged that the X Factor judge had sexually assaulted a man in the toilets of a Dublin nightclub.
7. #ARRESTED: An Irish doctor wanted for questioning on charges of child molestation in America has been arrested in Morocco. The Irish Times reports that Dr Rory Doyle had been on the run after he absconded from Ireland while waiting for an appeal to be heard against his extradition to the US.
8. #EGYPT: Tens of thousands of protesters have packed Tahrir Square in Cairo to protest a power grab by newly-installed president Mohamed Morsi. Egyptian police have reportedly fired tear gas at the crowd after clashes erupted in the streets just off the square. Check out the photographs of the huge crowds here.
9. #NAKED PROTEST: AIDS activists unhappy about plans to cut spending on HIV projects in America took matters into their own er, hands last night and held a naked protest in the lobby of the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner. The naked protesters had slogans painted onto their body and said they wanted to highlight the “naked truth” (ho ho!) about spending cuts. Well, it’s one way to get your point across. Bit too cold to do this in Ireland though…
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