GOOD MORNING. Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.

Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis

1. Fianna Fáil’s Ard Fheis is taking place in Dublin this weekend. 

In our main story this morning, Political Editor Christina Finn and Political Reporter Jane Matthews take a look at what the future holds for Micheál Martin, who the next party leader may be and what the biggest challenges ahead are. 

Israel resists calls for Gaza pause

2. Israel has resisted US calls for a pause in fighting and pressed its siege of Gaza City today, after deadly strikes hit an ambulance convoy and a school-turned-refugee shelter.

Hamas-run health authorities claim more than 9,200 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed since 7 October.

Nepal earthquake 

3. At least 132 people have been killed in an overnight earthquake that struck a remote pocket of Nepal, according to officials.

The 5.6-magnitude quake hit the far west of the Himalayan country last night and was measured by the US Geological Survey at just 18 kilometres deep.

Jason Corbett

4. Five women, including a family law attorney, have testified that Jason and Molly Corbett had a troubled relationship and that Jason Corbett physically, emotionally and verbally abused his wife.

Ashling Murphy

5. The man accused of murdering Ashling Murphy has told his trial that he was a witness to her murder and that he was stabbed three times by the same person who attacked the 23-year-old school teacher.

Jozef Puska took the stand in his defence and has now completed his evidence before the Central Criminal Court. Under cross-examination he accepted that he had previously lied to gardaí but denied that he had “concocted yet another set of lies for this jury”.

Man hit by bus

6. Gardaí are appealing  for witnesses following an incident in which an elderly man was left in serious conditions after being struck by a bus in Dublin city centre. 

The incident happened at the junction of O’Connell Street and Abbey Street Lower shortly after midday on Wednesday. 

The pedestrian, a man aged in his 80s, was treated at the scene and taken to the Mater Hospital where he remains in a serious conditions. 

Unregistered landlords

7. A TD has questioned figures held by the private rental sector regulator, after it claimed that it only needed to investigate a quarter of complaints about unregistered landlords it received last year.

The Residential Tenancies Board has been criticised by Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan who said it demonstrated a “worrying lack of enforcement” when it comes to unregistered tenancies in the rental market.

The RTB has defended the figures by claiming that when it checked complaints from tenants against its register, it resulted in a “large volume” of cases being closed.

Trump trial

8. Evidence from Donald Trump’s adult sons in his civil business fraud trial has wrapped up with Eric Trump saying he relied completely on accountants and lawyers to assure the accuracy of financial documents.

Donald Trump is scheduled to give evidence on Monday in the case, which comes as he leads Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls and fights four separate criminal cases.

League of Ireland

9. Shamrock Rovers have celebrated title number 21 after beating Sligo Rovers 4 to 2 at Tallaght Stadium yesterday evening.

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