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

1.#GILLIGAN: Gangster John Gilligan is today recovering in hospital after being shot at a family event in Clondalkin. The crime boss was hit three times and while his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, sources say he could be permanently damaged.

2.#UKRAINE: The leaders of the USA and Russia had a tense 90-minute phonecall last night as the situation in Crimea escalates. Russia has approved the use of military force in the region, with Ukraine’s interim leaders responding by putting troops on alert.

3.#GOOD LUCK: A former campaigner for junior Finance Minister Brian Hayes has switched allegiances to run for Fianna Fáil. Asked about the defection of Emmett Hegarty, Brian Hayes said “the best of luck to him”.

4.#WHERE DID YOU GO?: The HSE is sending letters to medical card holders, asking if they have emigrated. The letter is part of measures to reduce the number of medical cards in the country.

5.#GUN CONTROL: Questions have been raised over whether gun owners who lose legally held firearms will be compensated. The Department of Justice is reviewing the licensing of firearms and may tighten controls.

6.#GP CARE: The government may impose a €100 a year fee on taxpayers in order to fund free GP care for the entire population, The Sunday Times reports. The paper says the plan could cost €450 million, a figure that can not be funded by existing exchequer funds.

7.#RACISM: The former England footballer Sol Campbell has claimed that he was denied the captaincy of his country because he is black. In extracts from his autobiography, published today, Campbell said that the FA ‘wished he was white’.

8.#LUAS: Work on the Luas connector began this week, with disruption expected on Dublin streets for the foreseeable future. TheJournal.ie found out what the traders of Dawson Street think about the work.

9.#REHAB: Payments made by Rehab to former chief executive Frank Flannery may have breached the charity’s own rules, The Sunday Business Post reports. Flannery was a board member when his consultancy firm invoiced Rehab for €77,000. However, the charity had changed their rules in 2007 to prohibit payments to board members.