LAST UPDATE | 24 Oct 2022

GOOD MORNING.

Here are the stories you need to know before you start your day.

Rape crisis centre

1. In our top story this morning, Hayley Halpin reports that there was an increase in the number of people contacting six rape crisis centres last year compared to pre-pandemic.

According to the Rape Crisis Network Ireland’s rape crisis statistics 2021 report released today, a total of 11,414 contacts were made to six RCC helplines across Ireland last year. 

To put the 2021 figure into the context of pre-pandemic times, it is a 7% increase from the 2019 figure of 10,706. 

Refugee crisis

2. Cabinet ministers are set to meet today in a bid to try to solve the accommodation problem facing refugees arriving into Ireland.

It emerged over the weekend that newly arriving refugees had been forced to stay in Dublin Airport as there was no suitable accommodation for them. 

Tory leadership

3. Former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak could be named as the new UK Prime Minister as early as today, as Tory MPs are set to choose who they want to be their new leader today.

It comes after the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson dramatically pulled out of the leadership contest, despite claiming he had the 100 nominations needed to make it onto the ballot.

Workplace deaths

4. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) published its annual review of Workplace Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities 2020-2021 today which noted that 38 people died in workplace accidents last year.

The HSA welcomed this 30% reduction from 2020′s 54 deaths, with last year’s figures representing the lowest figure recorded since the authority was established over 30 years ago. 

Zebra crossings

5. The Government has announced a new pilot scheme for Zebra Crossings in Ireland without the need for flashing orange beacons.

There is a requirement for flashing orange lights, known as “Belisha beacon lights”, to accompany zebra crossing. In a statement, the Department of Transport said that these lights can cost close to €80,000 to install, with new plans to examine removing the need for the lights.

North and South Korea tensions

6. North and South Korea say they have exchanged warning shots along their disputed western sea boundary.

South Korea’s military says its Navy fired warning shots to repel a North Korean merchant ship that it says violated the sea boundary early this morning.

North Korea’s military said it responded by firing 10 rounds of artillery shells as a warning to South Korea.

Salman Rushdie

7. Author Salman Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and the use of a hand as he recovers from an attack by a man who rushed the stage at a literary event in August, according to his agent.

Andrew Wylie told the Spanish language newspaper El Pais that the author suffered three serious wounds to his neck and 15 more wounds to his chest and torso in the attack that took away the sight in one eye and left a hand incapacitated.

Recession risk

8. Downturns in parts of Europe could turn into “deeper recessions” across the continent as energy disruptions threaten economic pain, while a cost-of-living crisis risks stoking social tensions, the IMF said yesterday.

The International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook report on Europe comes as countries grapple with heightened inflation and a worsening energy crisis that has depressed the purchasing power of households and raised business costs.

Ukraine

9. Ukraine has slammed Russia for alleging Kyiv was planning to use a radioactive bomb in its own territory, calling the claims “dangerous” lies and prompting Western allies to warn Moscow against using any pretext for escalating the conflict.

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with his British, French and Turkish counterparts to convey “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb’,” Moscow said, referring to a weapon that uses traditional explosives to scatter radioactive material.