GOOD MORNING. 

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

Cold Snap
1.The cold snap is set to continue today as people in some localities in the south and south east of the country woke up to a light dusting of snow this morning. 

Temperatures are expected to plummet to -3 degrees tonight, with a Cold Weather Advisory in place until Friday night.

Nursing home sector
2.Closures, funding disparity and majority for-profit ownership are just some of the challenges facing the nursing home sector, according to a new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute. 

Social welfare rates to be reduced for Ukrainians

3. Cabinet will sign off today on legislation to give effect to the Government decision taken before Christmas to reduce welfare payments for Ukrainians.

Blinken to meet Netanyahu 

4. Top US diplomat Antony Blinken is set to meet Israeli leaders today as part of efforts to contain the war in Gaza, a day after strikes in Syria and Lebanon killed high-profile members of Hamas and its ally Hezbollah. The Israeli military has said it is planning fresh offensives in the centre and south of Gaza.

Kilross fatal assault

5. Two men have been arrested in connection with the fatal assault of a man in his 30s in Tipperary over Christmas.

In the early hours of 27 December, a man’s body was found at a house in Ballycrana, Kilross in the southwest of the county.

South Korea bans dog meat trade

6. South Korea’s parliament today passed a bill banning breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for their meat, a traditional practice that activists have long called an embarrassment for the country.

Man dies in Dublin after suspected assault

7. A man has died after a suspected assault in Lucan, Co Dublin.

At around 3am on Sunday, 7 January, gardaí were alerted to reports of a male, aged in his 30s, with serious injuries at an apartment.

Weather

8. We are in for a cold and frosty week, with temperatures expected to drop to -3 in parts of the country tonight. Temperatures will struggle to reach beyond 2 to 4 degrees during the day. 

Probe into Boeing jet
9.United and Alaska Airlines are to investigate the discovery of loose hardware on some of their planes after a panel fell out of a plane mid-flight last week.

It comes as multiple aviation experts have questioned why a Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was flying at all after warning lights were triggered on three previous flights.