GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your bank holiday.
1. In our lead story this morning, David MacRedmond meets a group of people who have been staging regular protests at the Russian embassy in Dublin since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Most of the protesters retired Irish people, there is a group of around 50 regular demonstrators who have been coming over the course of the past year. Despite not being a part of any formal activist group, this collection of demonstrators have come to know each other and have even met for drinks on occasion.
2. Today marks 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, creating a framework for peace in Northern Ireland.
The agreement was signed on 10 April 1998, but most commemorative events took place on Good Friday, the holy day the landmark deal was agreed.
3. China has simulated “sealing off” Taiwan during a third day of war games around the self-ruled island, as the United States deployed a naval destroyer into Beijing-claimed waters as a show of force.
China launched the exercises in response to a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House speaker Kevin McCarthy last week, an encounter it warned would provoke a furious response.
4. Multiple flights into Dublin Airport were diverted yesterday evening following an incident involving a plane arriving into the airport.
A Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Dublin experienced a minor technical issue with its nose landing gear upon landing, operator DAA said.
5. Twitter boss Elon Musk has described the BBC as “among the least biased” organisations after the broadcaster objected to being labelled as “government-funded media” on the social media site.
The BBC contacted Twitter after the designation was attached to the main @BBC account.
The BBC is funded by the British public via the TV licence.
6. Two bodies have been found in the rubble of a building that collapsed in Marseille following a major explosion yesterday,
More than 24 hours after the four-storey building imploded, with residents reporting a strong smell of gas, dozens of firefighters are still battling a blaze that has hampered search operations.
7. Spain’s John Rahm has won his first Masters tournament, recovering from a four-shot deficit to shoot a near-flawless, final-round 69 and overhaul Brooks Koepka.
With the poor side of the draw across the opening two rounds, Rahm had to fight through the brutal winds and rains of a suspended, two-day second round as Koepka kept warm in the clubhouse.
8. Weekend shelling by Russian forces has killed at least seven civilians, according to Ukrainian officials.
While Russia continued to concentrate on seizing all of Ukraine’s industrial east, two other provinces – Kharkiv in the north east and Zaporizhzhia in the south east – came under missile, rocket and artillery fire, the Ukrainian military reported.
9. In a column today, Dr Seamus Cowman, Professor Emeritus, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, writes that restructuring elderly care services can contribute directly to solving our annual winter bed crises.
Stories about patients on trolleys in A&E fade from front page news, he writes, expectations linger that the same will happen next winter.
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