EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #BILLS BILLS BILLS: The final cost of water charges for households has been finalised with charges set to be introduced tomorrow. The average annual household bill will be €238, according to the Commission for Energy Regulation.

2. #UNHAPPY: British Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised Ireland’s tax regime for multinational companies such as Apple and said the ‘double Irish’ approach needs to be curbed, RTE reports.

3. #SHOOTING: A 66-year-old man was shot in the leg in a Dublin pub late last night by a man wearing a balaclava. The victim is recovering in St James’s Hospital where his injuries are described as not life-threatening.

4. #PROTESTS: The leader of Hong Kong has urged pro-democracy protesters to immediately stop their demonstrations, even as tens of thousands of people continue to protest on the streets.

5. #VROOM VROOM: The Minister of State at the Department of the Environment has hired a director of Irish Water – who is a former Fine Gael councillor – as his personal driver, the Irish Times reports.

6. #VIDEO: Islamic State militants have released a video of British hostage John Cantlie, the third such video he has appeared in since he was kidnapped in late 2012. In the clip, the journalist gives a scripted message criticising the United States.

7. #LONDON: A 26-year-old man from Mayo has died after falling from the back of a moving taxi in London. Police have appealed for anyone with information about his death to come forward.

8. #MURDER: A former porn actor accused of killing and dismembering a Chinese student has pleaded not guilty on the first day of his trial in Canada. His lawyer says mental illness was to blame.

9. #HOMELESS IRELAND: In the latest in our series on the homeless crisis in Ireland, we look at stories from the frontline – including the story of what happened to a homeless woman with alcohol problems who found out she was pregnant, Brother Kevin Crowley from the Capuchin Day Centre on people sleeping rough in freezing temperatures, and what happens to homeless people who commit crimes.