GOOD MORNING.

Here’s the news that you need to know as you start your day.

Ukraine

1. Zelenskyy has accused Russia of wanting to “destroy” the entire eastern region of Donbas as the last remaining forces in Mariupol prepare for a final defence.

Ukraine has pledged to fight on and defend the city, despite a Russian ultimatum that called on remaining fighters inside the encircled Azovstal steel plant to surrender. 

Russia is pushing for a victory in the city as it tries to wrest control of Donbas and create a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea.

Carbon tax

2. Almost four in five people in Ireland think the planned increase in the carbon tax next month should be postponed.

A new survey carried out on behalf of The Journal by Red C Research found that 79% of people feel that the government should postpone the increase while 16% said it should not be postponed and 5% said they did not know.

The increase is set to kick in on 1 May, when the price of carbon will rise from €33.50 to €41.00 per tonne.

CervicalCheck

3. CervicalCheck has been under the microscope since April 2018 when it was revealed that some women diagnosed had not been informed about reviews of previous smear test had results.

This revelation led to an escalating public health controversy that played into the Irish State’s long history of scandals in relation to women and their healthcare.

Reporter Gráinne Ní Aodha looks at whether women’s trust can ever be fully restored in the programme.

Collision

4. Five people were brought to hospital yesterday after a collision between two cars in Co Waterford.

Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of a serious road traffic collision that occurred shortly after 4pm on the N25 near Ballyduff East in Kilmeaden.

In one car, the driver (a woman in her 40s) and a male teenager were brought to Waterford University Hospital, while in the second car, the driver (a man in his 70s) and two passengers (a man and a woman in their 50s) were taken to Cork and Waterford University Hospitals.  

Investigation

5. Police in Northern Ireland have opened a murder investigation after a woman died in a stabbing incident in County Antrim.

Alyson Nelson, 64, was found with stab wounds and died a short time later.

PSNI have arrested a man.

Refugee centre

6. A group of Ukrainian refugees became unwell when they arrived at an emergency accommodation centre in North Cork on Saturday night.

HSE medical staff and paramedics were at the centre in Banteer and were treating the refugees yesterday.

The Department of Integration said that it was a suspected vomiting bug outbreak.

Easter Rising

7. President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended an Easter Rising commemoration in Dublin yesterday along with relatives of former Irish presidents and of the 1916 signatories.

The national flag on top of the GPO was lowered at noon. Private Vincent Murray, of the 27th Infantry Battalion, played a lament outside the GPO and Commandant Daire Roache read the 1916 Proclamation.

Higgins laid a wreath to commemorate those who died in 1916.

Bray cliff walk

8. Engineers have warned that efforts to make the Bray cliff walk safe are doomed because of the danger of collapsing cliffs.

Wicklow County Council was forced to close off parts of the walk last year with an internal report saying stabilisation works would be “prohibitively exorbitant” and “excessively hazardous”.

Engineers recommended that the local authority negotiate with nearby landowners about creating a new route that would take visitors inland and away from the most vulnerable cliffs.

Scotland

9. Nicola Sturgeon has been reported to police after footage showed her apparently breaching Scotland’s Covid face mask law on the council election campaign trail.

A video posted on social media appears to show Scotland’s First Minister not wearing a mask during a visit to a barber’s in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday.

There is currently a legal requirement to wear a face covering in most indoor public places in Scotland, including shops, public transport and hairdressers.