LAST UPDATE | 30 Sep 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Operation Irini

1. In our main story this morning, Niall O’Connor spoke to Irish Defence Forces personnel about their involvement in an operation targeting a large cargo ship involved in arms smuggling to warring factions in Libya. 

A team from the Irish navy and the Air Corps are based in a military base outside Rome as part of Operation Irini is a United Nations Mandated European staffed mission to bring stability to Libya. 

This week The Journal travelled to Rome to meet the team and in a series of articles tell the story how a small group of Irish officers and senior enlisted naval Chief Petty Officers are helping to bring peace to the north African state.

Ukraine annexation

2. Internationally, Russia is expected to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine at a lavish Kremlin ceremony today, following a threat by President Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons in their defence.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the annexations would be formalised at the ceremony and Putin would deliver a “major” speech.

It comes after foreign leaders critical of Russia voiced their opposition to the plan, with US President Joe Biden saying the United States would “never, never, never” recognise Russian sovereignty over the territories.

Hurricane Ian

3. Hurricane Ian has unleashed “historic” devastation in Florida, leaving a yet unknown number of dead in its wake, as the storm restrengthened in the Atlantic on a path toward the Carolinas.

The storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the United States, left hundreds of people in need of rescue, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, while warning it was still too early to get a clear picture of the death toll.

“We absolutely expect to have mortality from this hurricane,” he said at a press conference yesterday evening.

Crash into TD’s garden

4. Back in Ireland, a Garda investigation has been launched after a car was driven through the gates of the home of Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny in Co Leitrim. 

Gardaí said they attended a “road traffic collision” in Aughavas at around 2am yesterday. 

A man in his 40s was taken to Cavan General Hospital to be treated for his injuries. 

Budget measures

5. Measures announced as part of Budget 2023 will protect “most households from rising prices this winter”, according to new research presented today at the ESRI post-budget briefing.

The research from the ESRI shows that welfare increases combined with one-off measures are large enough to leave the lowest-income households better-off on average than they would have been had welfare payment rates risen in line with inflation both this year and next.

However,  lower-income households will experience real terms cuts in living standards if there is no repeat of welfare bonuses, lump-sum payments and household energy credits in Budget 2024.

Pay-as-you-go

6. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told the Dáil that the December to March moratorium on the disconnection of utilities due to non-payment does not extend to customers using pay as you go meters.

Responding to a question from People Before Profit TD Mick Barry, Varadkar said “ideally” the moratorium should apply to everyone but he can’t envision it working.

SDLP

7. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said he will continue to work with the SDLP despite reports the two parties had axed their three-year partnership.

A “policy partnership” in 2019 announced that the two parties would share a programme of public engagement and common policy proposals put forward on economic development, Irish unity, Brexit, education, health, and housing. 

Weather

8. It’s a wet and dull start to the weekend with a Status Yellow rain and wind warning in place for six counties. 

The weather warning is in place for Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo. The warning kicked in at 2am and will remain in place until 2pm. 

Met Éireann has warned it will be wet and windy during this morning with gusty southerly winds developing. The forecaster said heavy rainfall may cause some localised flooding. 

No more Fifa

9. And lastly, one of the biggest franchises in video game history is coming to an end today with the release of Fifa 23, the final instalment of a football game that has entranced millions of fans for the past three decades.

US game maker Electronic Arts (EA) and global football body Fifa spent months negotiating over the licensing agreement that has underpinned the game since its first edition in 1993.

But they confirmed the split in May when Fifa said it would be seeking other partners and EA said it would rebrand its game as “EA Sports FC” from next year.