GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. In our main story this morning, Órla Ryan reports that many people, from Ireland and abroad, contacted President Mary Robinson, Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and other politicians about the controversial X Case in 1992, newly released records show.
State Papers – official documents from Government departments and the President’s Office – are generally made available to the public 30 years after the fact.
A tranche of documents released this month include letters sent to Robinson and Reynolds at the height of the X Case debate.
2. Israeli forces have pressed on with intensified attacks in the Gaza Strip’s biggest southern city and a central refugee camp, after the territory’s health ministry reported more than 21,000 people had been killed in 11 weeks of conflict.
The continued air strikes and the expansion of operations in the south came as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Gaza’s population was in “grave peril”.
In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised “the need to work towards a lasting ceasefire” and expressed his “deepest concern at the very heavy civilian toll” in Gaza.
3. A Status Yellow wind and rain warning has been issued for seven counties, with Met Éireann warning of possible coastal flooding in some areas after Storm Gerrit passed over Ireland last night.
The weather warning will remain in place in counties Clare, Kerry, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo until 6am tomorrow morning.
4. Tony Blair and members of his office were interested in having “a good time”, ideally related to U2, during a planned trip to Ireland in 1993, newly released documents show.
Blair, then Shadow Home Secretary and a Member of Parliament for Sedgefield in County Durham, was keen to meet officials in Dublin and Belfast to discuss issues such as the Northern Ireland peace process.
5. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that children waiting on spinal surgeries for long periods have been “failed by their own country”.
As of September, about 284 children were on the spinal surgery waiting list, with over 100 of those beyond the target of four months waiting time.
6. The explanation that three alleged IRA members were in Colombia to discuss the peace process, or just on holiday, rather than training FARC rebels, was “insulting to our intelligence”, a top US diplomat said in 2001.
Richard Haass, who was the United States’ Special Envoy for Northern Ireland at the time, said the situation strained relations with the US and could have damaged the peace process in the North, newly released documents show.
7. Tributes have been paid to an Irishman who was killed in a road traffic collision in New Zealand on Christmas day.
Tim O’Dwyer (20) from Ennistymon, and formerly Ballyvraneen and Lahinch in Clare, died in a single-vehicle collision in New Zealand.
8. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has urged his party to “accelerate” war preparations including its nuclear programme, state media said.
The comments came just a week after Kim warned Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if “provoked” with nukes.
9. The Colorado Republican Party has appealed against the state’s supreme court decision to find former President Donald Trump ineligible for US presidency.
The appeal, lodged yesterday, is the potential first step to a showdown at the nation’s highest court over the meaning of a 155-year-old constitutional provision banning people who “engaged in insurrection” from office.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say