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

1. #ELECTION BONANZA: Both local and European elections, as well as two Dáil by-elections, could all take place on the same day, the Irish Independent reports. The paper notes that a similar situation occurred five years ago, and proved disastrous for the Fianna Fáil/Green Party coalition.

2. #ROAD DEATH: A cyclist has been killed in a hit-and-run incident in Galway. The man in his 60s was struck by a car on Gort Road.

3. #WATER PROTESTS: Protests against the installation of water metres are continuing in several estates across the country. Protesters in Dublin have said this morning they have ‘all the time in the world’ to stop the works taking place.

4. #SOCIAL WELFARE: An anti-fraud programme is due to be launched later today by the Department of Social Protection. Joan Burton has said that €10 million has already been recovered.

5. #UKRAINE: US President Barack Obama has accused Russia of failing to live up to an agreement to defuse the crisis in Ukraine. Russia has this morning responded by accusing the US of trying to ‘stage a revolution’ in Ukraine.

6. #EDUCATION: A gender gap among teachers has widened over the past 50 years, figures published by the Irish Times show. Female teachers now make up 74 per cent of teachers, up 11 per cent from 1961.

7. #STRANDED: Some passengers had to spend another night on board an Irish Ferries ship last night after a technical fault. The majority had been accommodated with other arrangements.

8. #E-CIGS: From next month, the HSE will be banning electronic cigarettes from all facilities, RTÉ reports. Only “safe and effective products” will be recommended.

9. #BABY RHINO: Dublin’s zoo youngest rhinoceros has met his dad for the first time. You can watch the moment here.