GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. In our lead story this morning, Ian Curran outlines why Irish shoppers are being advised to start planning their Christmas purchases as soon as they can.
With shipping costs skyrocketing and world trade gripped by a major supply chain crunch some of the biggest toy and home furnishing companies operating in Ireland have already said that they are experiencing major delays ahead of the busy season.
2. A man died after falling ill while taking part in an adventure race in the Maumturk mountains in Co Galway.
The organisers of Gaelforce West said they are deeply saddened to confirm that a competitor died during the final section of the race yesterday.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the friends and family of the competitor and ask that their privacy is respected at this time,” the organisers said.
3. Two opinion polls published in newspapers today have found that Sinn Féin is the most popular political party in the country.
The latest Sunday Times opinion poll finds that Sinn Féin leads Fine Gael by 10% points. The party also secured top place in the Business Post/Red C poll for the first time.
It’s the first poll since senior Fine Gael leaders became embroiled in the controversy over the appointment of Katherine Zappone as a UN special envoy.
In the Sunday Times poll, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s personal satisfaction rating has fallen by nine points, to 39%.
4. Worries about the lives of women under Taliban rule in Afghanistan continue to grow, with reports of women being whipped and beaten at a protest in Kabul on Wednesday 8 September.
During Taliban rule in the 1990s, the regime imposed a strict set of restrictions upon the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan. Girls were mostly forbidden from receiving an education and women were denied employment.
Full-face coverings became mandatory in public and women could not leave the home without a male companion.
Emma Taggart outlines what we know so far about how women are likely to be treated in Afghanistan under the new Taliban regime.
5. Galway and Cork will face-off in the All-Ireland senior camogie final in Croke Park at 4.15pm today.
It’s the first time the two sides played each other in the decider since 2015. Despite appearing in a third consecutive final, Galway are coming into the game as slight underdogs.
Sinead Farrell breaks down some of the key talking points ahead of the crunch tie.
6. The FBI has released the first document related to its investigation of the 11 September attacks and allegations of Saudi government support for the hijackers, following an executive order by President Joe Biden.
The partially redacted document released outlined contacts between the hijackers and Saudi associates, but no evidence the government in Riyadh was complicit in the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
7. The UK is facing a “winter of discontent” after the government pushed ahead with Brexit, taking Britain out of the European Union, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister will warn today.
With supermarkets having already experienced issues with shortages, John Swinney will argue that such problems show how “Westminster isn’t working”.
The Scottish Deputy First Minister will use his speech to the SNP national conference to hit out at the “muscular unionism” of Boris Johnson’s Conservative government – adding that the Prime Minister and his colleagues simply “do not have the brains to match the brawn”.
Pope Francis to meet Viktor Orban
8. Pope Francis arrived in Hungary at the start of his first big international outing since undergoing intestinal surgery in July.
He will celebrate a mass and meet with prime minister Viktor Orban, whose right-wing, anti-immigrant policies clash with Francis’ call for countries to welcome refugees.
Francis’ arrival at Budapest airport on Sunday opened his four-day trip primarily to Slovakia with a seven-hour stop on Sunday in the Hungarian capital.
9. As Australia grapples with a Covid-19 outbreak the country has purchased an additional one million doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine from the European Union.
The purchase is a boost for Australia’s economy, which is at risk of slipping into its second recession in as many years as a result of lockdowns of the country’s two most populous cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
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