EACH DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #MELBOURNE: The man who has admitted to raping and killing Irish woman Jill Meagher in Australia was on parole at the time of the brutal attack and murder last year, a Melbourne court has heard. Adrian Bayley’s long history of violence against women was outlined during the hearing. Jill’s father George McKeon read out his powerful victim impact statement, while her husband Tom said he was “shattered to the core” by his loss.
2. #SENTENCING: A Law Reform Commission report has recommended that a minimum sentence for murder be retained. However, judges have called for a reform of the regime that applies to drugs and firearms offences because criminals have adapted to the sentencing, protecting those at the top and punishing low-level offenders.
3. #LEAVING CERT: Further problems with yesterday’s Leaving Certificate Higher Level Maths Paper II exam have emerged. Catherine Lewis, a member of the National Council of Maths Teachers, said she has never seen “so many errors come up”, adding that it seemed to her the paper could have been compiled “in a rush”.
4. #TURKEY: Riot police have taken control of Istanbul’s Taksim Square, firing tear gas and water cannon at anti-government protesters who threw back molotov cocktails and fireworks.
5. #BOMB: An explosion, believed to be caused by a pipe bomb, “shook a whole street” in a residential area of Coolock, north Dublin last night. Nobody was injured in the incident.
6. #TAOISEACH THREAT: A man who threatened to kill Enda Kenny in a Facebook comment may face charges, according to the Irish Daily Star. A complaint was made to gardaí about a page relating to a campaign to save the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar: “If they close this hospital il (sic) shoot Enda Kenny JFK style,” he wrote.
7. #FINGERS: A hearing in the Commercial Court has revealed the extraordinary expenses run up by Michael Fingleton when he presided over failed lender Irish Nationwide. Aside from exclusive hotels, restaurants and golf trips, the banker spent €3,255 on a present for Michael Smurfit…in a Caribbean liquor store. And, according to the Irish Independent, developer Gerry Gannon’s daughter was also the recipient of a €1,000 Brown Thomas gift card.
8. #ESCAPE: A number of children and their teachers were lucky to escape unharmed from a fire on a bus in Newcastle West, Limerick as they returned from a school tour last night, reports the Irish Examiner.
9. #BYE BYE! Canadian astronaut has hung up his space boots, announcing his immediate retirement from the astronaut corps just weeks after returning home from his International Space Station expedition. Tributes continue to pour in for the popular spaceman with Parliamentary Secretary Chris Alexander calling him a true hero and an icon.
Saying goodbye to colleagues: “To say goodbye to these good people today was much harder than I expected.” Image: Chris Hadfield/Twitter
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