EVERY MORNING TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you wake up. 

1. #LYRA MCKEE: The dissident group the New IRA has admitted to killing journalist Lyra McKee, offering its “full and sincere apologies” in a statement to the Irish News.

2. #SRI LANKA: Police in Sri Lanka have announced that the death toll from a string of suicide bomb attacks on Easter Sunday has risen to 310.

3. #DONEGAL: Gorse fires that threatened homes and businesses in Co Donegal have been brought under control; authorities are urging caution as the dry weather continues.

4. #BREXIT IS BACK: As MPs return from their Easter break, two Irish MEP candidates say they’ll consider legal action if they win one of the two EU parliament seats that will be put on hold until the UK leaves the EU, reports the Times Ireland edition.

5. #RURAL IRELAND: Children and adults with disabilities are now being charged fees to use rural transport schemes to get to HSE day services.

6. #WEAPON OF WAR: The Guardian reports that the US is threatening to veto a UN resolution on combating the use of rape as a weapon of war, on grounds that the language implies support for abortion.

7. #LAW AND ORDER: Almost all women in Irish prisons are serving sentences for committing petty crimes.

8. #TEACHER’S PAY: The INTO, which is Ireland’s largest teachers’ union, has agreed wording with the government towards achieving equal pay for all teachers, RTÉ reports.

9. #U-TURN: Samsung has delayed the launch of its folding smartphone after reviewers reported that the screens broke on the handsets that were sent to them.

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