GOOD MORNING.

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

Traveller women

1. The morning starts with a Noteworthy investigation into how Traveller women are treated in the prison system.

The story has uncovered that they are being imprisoned for minor first time offences such as driving without tax, shoplifting and crimes linked to addiction, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Alec Baldwin shooting

2. A prop firearm discharged by veteran actor Alec Baldwin, who is starring and producing a Western movie, killed his director of photography and injured the director, police said.

Sheriff’s officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said Halyna Hutchins, director of photography for the movie Rust, and director Joel Souza were shot on last night.

Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel, authorities said.

Confusion

3. Employers and office workers will require clear guidance following the Government’s decision to delay a full return to workplaces, employment experts and trade unions say.

It was announced in August that from today, the advice for people to ‘work from home, where possible’ would be removed from the Government’s Work Safely Protocol, allowing for a more substantial return to offices.

But based on advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) about the current public health situation, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced on Tuesday that the remote working guidance would remain in place.

Nightclubs

4. All remaining Covid-19 restrictions were planned to be lifted today but a rise in cases an increased hospitalisations has meant that the handbrake has not been completely released. 

Instead, today sees some further restrictions lifted while others only being eased. 

Nightclubs and late bars, which were closed for 19 months, can now reopen subject to restrictions with guidelines published last night on how they can operate. 

Gabby Petito

5. Human remains found in a Florida nature reserve belong to the boyfriend of murdered road tripper Gabby Petito, US authorities have said.

The FBI said in a statement that “a comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains… are those of Brian Laundrie.”

Laundrie (23) had been named a “person of interest” in the killing of Petito (22) who was found dead in September after the couple went on a road trip across the United States.

KBC Bank loans

6. Bank Of Ireland is to acquire almost all of KBC Bank Ireland’s performing loan assets and liabilities in a deal worth €5 billion.

In a statement this morning, the banks announced that they were in talks since April, and have confirmed that they have entered into a legally-binding agreement.

That will see Bank of Ireland acquire around €8.8 billion worth of performing mortgages, €100m worth of mainly performing commercial and consumer loans, €4.4 billion of deposits and around €300m of non-performing mortgages. 

Irish Greenhouse gases

7. Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions fell less last year than they did in 2019 despite a large decrease in emissions from the transport sector during the pandemic.

Transport emissions fell by a significant 15.7% in 2020 as people travelled less during Covid-19 restrictions.

However, the overall reduction was lower than it was the previous year and fell short of staying within EU limits.

Afghan mission

8. Another 16 Irish citizens and dependents have been evacuated from Afghanistan.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney confirmed today that they had been evacuated from Kabul Airport to Doha, the capital of Qatar. The evacuation took place last night.

The group has been met by Irish officials in Doha and will later travel on to Ireland.

EU in Trouble

9. Deep divisions over the EU’s legal order and energy took an EU summit late last night, with eastern member states Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic standing in defiance against Brussels.

The rule of law issue was especially thorny, with the potential to shake the very foundations of the 27-nation bloc.

The east-west divide was set to continue today, when leaders would return to discuss migration, a topic that turned Europeans bitterly against each other when Germany opened its doors to asylum-seekers fleeing war in 2015.