LAST UPDATE | 8 Aug 2022

GOOD MORNING.

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

Burglaries

1. Home break-ins increased in the first three months of this year, with lifted Covid-19 measures a factor in the surge, Niall O’Connor reports in this morning’s lead story.

Measures such as road blocks and visible on-street patrols that subsided along with restrictions lifting are part of the reason the burglaries have risen, sources said.

The rate had previously fallen “because they were more likely to get caught” and “more people were home”.

Wind energy

2. Wind energy has provided slightly more than one-third of Ireland’s power so far this year, according to a new report by Wind Energy Ireland.

Last month saw a two-fold increase in demand met by wind compared with the same period last year, with wind fulfilling 21% of demand in July.

The government recently announced an increase in offshore wind generation targets from five gigawatts to seven gigawatts per year by 2030 to help push towards climate change targets. 

Taiwan

3. China has carried out another round of live fire drills around Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

The Chinese military’s Eastern Command said, were “focusing on organising joint anti-submarine and sea assault operations”, while analysts say it is a practice for a blockade and invasion of Taiwan.

The island is self-ruled but China, which claims it as its territory, was outraged by Pelosi’s visit during a tour of Asia.

Forecast

4. Met Éireann has warned of high temperatures again this week, likely to reach the mid or high 20s on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in particular.

Today is set to be dry with long spells of sunshine and highest temperatures from 19  to 24 degrees. 

Gaza

5. Israel and Palestine agreed last night to a truce in Gaza after three days of intense fighting.

At least 31 Palestinians have been killed including six children, and 275 people have been wounded since Friday, while two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said officials were talking with both sides “around the clock” in an effort to ease the violence.

Climate change

6. The US Senate passed a significant piece of legislation on fighting climate change in a narrow vote divided down the middle between Democrats and Republicans.

The 51-50 outcome was pushed over the line by a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.

Camogie

7. Kilkenny took home the O’Duffy cup for the second time in three years yesterday at the All-Ireland Senior camogie final.

A 58th-minute goal pushed them ahead of Cork after a neck-and-neck second half in Croke Park.

Tory election

8. The candidates to lead the UK’s Conservative Party are under pressure to explain how they will help households with the rising cost of living. 

Liz Truss is under fire from Rishi Sunak’s allies for suggesting there would be no “handouts” and later playing down the comment.

Sunak said it as “simply wrong to rule out further direct support” for struggling families this winter – though a recent video showed Sunak remarking in July that he had challenged public funding models, wanting better for prosperous towns over “deprived urban areas”. 

Colombia

9. Colombia’s first leftist president was sworn into office yesterday after beating conservative parties in June.

Gustavo Petro promised to fight inequality and bring peace to the country, declaring that the “war on drugs” had failed.

He has described US-led anti-narcotics policies as a failure but also indicated that he wants to work with the country “as equals” and build schemes such as combatting climate change or bringing infrastructure to rural areas where many farmers say coca leaves are the only viable crop.