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LAST UPDATE | 27 Feb 2024
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
Gaza
1. US President Joe Biden has said Israel would be willing to halt its war on Hamas in Gaza during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan if a deal is reached to release some of the hostages being held.
Negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar are working on a framework deal under which Hamas would free some of the dozens of hostages it holds, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a six-week halt in fighting.
During the temporary pause, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages.
Media committee
2. Minister for Media Catherine Martin is set to appear before an Oireachtas Committee today to discuss the latest in the ongoing RTÉ controversies.
The minister has come under fire since last week for a series of events that led up to former Chair of the RTÉ Board Siún Ní Raghallaigh tendering her resignation.
The reason behind the latest debacle is RTÉ’s handling of exit packages for executives who have left the organisation.
Child welfare
3. 41% of parents have said they had to skip meals or reduce portion sizes last year so that their children would have enough to eat, according to the latest Food Insecurity Research launched today by children’s charity Barnardos.
The research found that 24% of parents said they had to borrow money to feed their child last year, up 8% on the 16% figure in 2022.
12% of parents used a food bank last year and 26% felt they didn’t have enough food to feed their children.
Vigil in Dublin
4. A vigil took place in Dublin to pay tribute to a homeless woman who died in the city centre on Sunday.
The woman has been named locally as Ann Delaney, who was 47-years-old and originally from Co Laois. She is said to have been sleeping rough in Dublin for the last several years, most recently on Aungier Street.
She was well known to locals in the area, who left tributes throughout the day to mark her passing.
Nature Restoration Law
5. The European Parliament is set to vote today on whether to approve the final version of the Nature Restoration Law to protect and restore biodiversity.
The legislation seeks to set specific targets for the first time on restoring nature in urban, forest, agricultural and marine ecosystems.
This stage of voting on legislation in the EU is usually a formality, but the European People’s Party, the largest political grouping in the EU, has said it will not back the law.
School transport scheme
6. Changes to the school transport scheme are to be phased in over the next six years.
Education Minister Norma Foley is bringing a memo to Cabinet today to secure approval for the publication of a review of the scheme, which recommends a number of key changes.
For many years, parents have struggled with difficulties with the school transport scheme due to capacity issues. There has been an effort to increase capacity by increasing the number of school buses and drivers.
Horseracing
7. New data shows the number of horses dying within a month of a race in the multimillion-euro racing industry reached more than 240 last year.
However, fewer than half of the death toll is counted by the industry as a race day death, due to current industry policy which requires an animal to die within 48 hours of participating in a race, prompting concern from animal welfare campaigners.
It comes as the industry regulator says it’s engaging with two racecourses over deaths at their tracks last year.
ATM robberies
8. Four men have been sentenced in Antrim for taking part in a series of ATM robberies between late October 2018 and early December 2019.
The spate of robberies included the theft of two cash machines at a supermarket on Castle Way in Antrim.
The four offenders, all aged in their 30s, received a range of different sentences from the Antrim Crown Court.
Alec Baldwin
9. Alec Baldwin will stand trial in July over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set three years ago, a New Mexico judge has ruled.
The US actor pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter earlier this month over the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust in 2021.
Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 when it discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Usually in an economic crisis countries resort to economic protectionism and barriers to free trade. Thankfully we’ve learned from the past and are instead seeing free trade as one of the many routes to recovery. Fair play to Obama, ain’t no way in hell Mitt Romney would have touched this idea.
Let’s hope we can use our presidency to advance these talks. We’ve everything to gain in the way of foreign direct investment and jobs.
the federal reserve runs america not the president so it wouldnt have made a difference whether its obama or romney.
If you want to learn from the past, maybe you should take a look at the mess that NAFTA made of the Mexican economy.
@limofax nafta also destroyed the US economy as mexican truck drivers undercut americans.US companies now outsource manufacturing to mexico as its cheaper & pay no import duties on goods.free trade is all about the big boys maximising profits.its the little guy that suffers with job losses.
The damage to Mexican farmers is down to US subsidies to the corn industry, not to the free trade policy itself.
and overall NAFTA has been of benefit to the Mexican economy.
Wrong on both counts. You need to Google it a bit harder than that.
Mexico’s economy is booming. GDP growth of 4% last year and rising.
Another step towards a one world government ? US, Canada & Mexico linked in the AMERO & Europe linked in the Euro & now the US & Europe will be linked so when the next crisis happens the talks will be about lets link the Euro & AMERO to create jobs & growth ? ? ! !
The ‘invisible hand’ as introduced by Adams into Economics will be used to line more pockets for the rich from the hard work of the middle and lower classes.
Can you imagine if people made these comments when free trade in the EU was first proposed?
Thank God TheJournal wasn’t around back then, Europe would still be at war.
Oh I contradicted your faith in greed just as I’m contradicting your belief in supernatural superstitions now. This god of your was created as another control mechanism for the workforce. A better life in the next one. Don’t make me laugh :)
I don’t think David that there is anything wrong with being very cautious about any new agreements. However, blind optimism is just plain stupid. A deal will only be a good deal if its a great deal for our citizens. Anything which would further drive down wages or allow multinationals to lay waste to our SME sector or independent retailers would be a disaster.
Well look, you go close the borders while I get my coat.
There’s no future in this country without free trade.
They once told us a country couldn’t survive without free trade in men, women and children of the same skin colour as the lad in the pic. Don’t take everything you learn in Trinners as a student mate as gospel mate. Been there. Done that ;)
I never mentioned closing the borders. I was talking about a good deal for our citizens. David, you could save yourself and FG any further daily embarrassment by not commenting on anything at all. I’d nearly believe that the reason FF polled higher than FG on Monday is down to your mutterings on here. If you’re the future of FG, then we all need to get our coats. Gullibility is not something to shout about.
Oh he’s a blueshirt. They’ve always been all about expansion. I should have known better and realised his was a party political broadcast.
Watch the US government pushing GM sh1t on Europe with Monsanto nudging them along. They’ve screwed up farming and food over there. Soon you’ll hear how GMO will help our agri industry prosper…. NO NO NO!!!!!!
Free trade will benefit the whole world. This is great news.
American’s eat GM food with no adverse effects to their health or environment. I would like to have the option of buying cheaper food. What if there’s a global famine in 50 years or so. I want food security for our grandchildren’s generation. Let the anti GM people starve and gather wild berries. The rest of us can eat crops.
Is that why the EU has banned some of Monsanto chemicals because it stops bees from collecting pollen & is killing them off ?
Have you not seen the studies on the rats that eat only Monsanto sprayed chemical food ?
Food security ? Tell the EU to stop putting a cap on what can be used, like their law trying to make bananas more straight or odd shaped fruit being banned ?
Be prepared to see SOPA or ACTA like proposals being made core parts of this agreement. They have done it before with Canada.
Roll on the NWO
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