GOOD MORNING.

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

Greek train collision

1. Students and rail workers are preparing to rally in Athens today in the latest expression of grief and anger at Greece’s worst rail disaster, which killed at least 57 people.

The station master implicated in the disaster is also due in court on Sunday, a hearing postponed from the previous day, where he may face charges of negligent homicide.

High seas

2. UN member states finally agreed last night to a text on the first international treaty after years of negotiations to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet.

“The ship has reached the shore,” conference chair Rena Lee announced at the UN headquarters in New York shortly before 9:30 pm (02:30 Irish time this morning), to loud and lengthy applause from delegates.

Your stories

3. Families and businesses have struggled with the increased cost of basic utilities such as gas and electricity, with energy companies blaming high prices on the ongoing attack on Ukraine and post-Covid disruption.

Readers have detailed their experiences to The Journal in dealing with high energy prices.

First flying of tricolour

4. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will speak at a ceremony in Waterford today to commemorate the first flying of the tricolour 175 years ago.

The Irish national flag was first flown at the Wolfe Tone Club in Waterford City by Irish nationalist leader Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848

Channel crossings

5. British PM Rishi Sunak has vowed to put an end to the “immoral” illegal migration trade as the UK Government prepares to unveil new powers to crack down on small-boat crossings in the Channel.

The legislation, promised as part of UK Government efforts to tackle illegal migration, could come as soon as Tuesday, as UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that the only way into the UK would be a “safe and legal route”.

Oscars slap

6. Chris Rock finally hit back at Will Smith yesterday in a brutal stand-up routine, a year after the actor slapped him in front of a global TV audience for the Oscars.

The comedian came out swinging, accusing the Hollywood star of “selective outrage” when he reacted to a jibe about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, and saying Smith lashed out at a shorter man because he was annoyed his wife had cheated on him.

Drugs seizure

7. Drugs worth over €116,000 have been seized by gardaí in Drogheda.

The seizure and arrest was part of a search operation in Co Louth yesterday.

As part of Operation Stratus and Operation Tara, gardaí attached to the Louth Divisional Drug Unit executed two search warrants.

Rhasidat Adeleke

9. Record-breaking Rhasidat Adeleke speaks to The42 about exceeding her own expectations and her ultimate ambition: next year’s Paris Olympics.

Mrs Brown’s Boys

9. Mrs Brown’s Boys will return to BBC One with a four-part series which had been planned for 2021 but was “thwarted twice” during the pandemic.

Despite being a regular feature on Christmas schedules for more than a decade, the four new episodes will be the first mini-series run since 2013.