LAST UPDATE | 9 Jun 2023

GOOD MORNING.

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

Trump indicted

1. Former US President Donald Trump said he has been indicted on federal charges of allegedly mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate.

US media outlets reported that the indictment covered seven counts and Trump said he is due in court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon – making him the first former US president to face federal criminal charges.

He has already been indicted in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that could lead to criminal charges. 

Anti-social behaviour

2. Business owners in Dublin City Centre have spoken of staff being subjected to intimidation, along with verbal and physical abuse due to persistent anti-social behaviour and drug use.

The situation with anti-social behaviour has deteriorated in recent years since the Covid-19 pandemic, one business owner said.

While drug use and related issues have long been a problem in the area, another person said it has become “out of control at this stage”.

The Journal visited areas of the city centre this week, from Liffey Street just north of the Ha’Penny Bridge to Aston Quay just south of O’Connell Bridge, where a man was stabbed during an assault by a large group on Monday.

Mental health centres

3. The Mental Health Commission has warned that HSE mental health centres must improve compliance in four key areas or they face being de-registered as approved centres.

The warning comes with the publication of the MHC’s 2022 annual report.

The four key areas where improvement is needed by some providers is risk management, individual care planning, staffing, and premises.

Chloe Mitchell search

4. Police in Northern Ireland searching for a missing woman have arrested a 26-year-old man.

21-year-old Chloe Mitchell was last seen in Ballymena Town centre, in Co Antrim, in the early hours of Friday, 2 June. 

PSNI arrested a man in Lurgan, Co Armagh, yesterday afternoon and said he was helping police with their enquiries.

“We are becoming increasingly concerned as to the whereabouts of Chloe Mitchell,” police said. 

Protest at Russian embassy

5. Several hundred people took part in a protest at the Russian Embassy in Dublin last night in response to the destruction of a major dam in Ukraine.

The destruction of the Kahovka dam on the Dnipro River on Tuesday unleashed a torrent of water that has left 600 square kilometres of the region under water. Ukraine accuses Russia, whose forces control the dam area, of blowing up the dam.

Voluntary group Ukrainian Action in Ireland organised this evening’s protest and called for an end to “Russian ecocide”, saying that “villages and cities are gone underwater and thousands of people and animals are in danger”.

Stabbing in France

6. Four children and two adults were injured yesterday in a stabbing attack in the French town of Annecy.

The French Prime Minister said the suspect was “not known by any intelligence service” and did not have “any history of psychiatric problems”.

The four child victims were brought to a local hospital in critical condition but were later said to all be stable.

Wildfires

7. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has continued to shroud US cities in a noxious haze, forcing flight delays and cancellations to outdoor activities as environmental groups called for urgent action to tackle climate change.

Residents in the capital Washington awoke to an acrid smell and orange-tinged skies, with the Environmental Protection Agency rating parts of the mid-Atlantic region at “Code Maroon,” the highest category of the Air Quality Index, signalling hazardous conditions.

This made some parts of the United States among the most polluted in the world, worse than cities in South Asia and China that normally dominate global rankings, with the situation not expected to improve until the weekend.

Troubles bill

8. The British government has published changes to its controversial legislation on handling legacy cases dating back to the Troubles in the Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill proposes providing immunity for people accused of crimes during the Troubles if they co-operate with a new truth recovery body known as the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). It would also halt future civil cases and inquests linked to killings during the conflict.

The bill has been opposed by almost all political parties, the Irish Government and victims groups. 

Paul Coghlan

9. Former Fine Gael Senator Paul Coghlan has died at the age of 79.

Coghlan was elected as a senator in 1997 and remained in office until his retirement in 2020.

During his time in the Seanad, Coghlan served as Leas-Cathaoirleach and Government Chief Whip of the Seanad, as well as Fine Gael spokesperson for Defence.