LAST UPDATE | 9 Dec 2023
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.
1. The US has vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The vote came amid Palestinian civilians facing what the UN chief called a “humanitarian nightmare”.
US deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticised the council after the vote, claiming that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and “only plant the seeds for the next war”.
Weather warnings
2. A wet and windy weekend is in store with weather warnings issued for several counties as Storm Elin hits Ireland.
Dublin, Wicklow and Donegal are facing Status Orange wind warnings later today while Status Yellow warnings are in place for Connaught, Leinster, parts of Munster and much of Ulster.
Met Éireann said Storm Elin will generate gale force west to northwest winds and severe gusts, causing disruption and travelling difficulties in parts.
3. The terms of reference for Ireland’s Covid inquiry are due to go to Cabinet in the next two weeks.
Senior government sources said the terms of reference will either go to Cabinet on Tuesday or the week after, stating that they are “ready to go”.
It is understood that promises have been made to brief the opposition parties, but it has been difficult to find a time slot due to recent political events and political leaders travelling abroad.
4. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has spoken with staff at Temple Street Children’s Hospital who were harassed as they travelled home from work during a riot in Dublin on 23 November.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told migrant nurses yesterday that they were “valued”, after Donnelly expressed concern about a “notable rise” in racial harassment in recent years being reported to him by healthcare staff.
Speaking at an event on Wednesday celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s international section, Donnelly said staff at Temple Street in Dublin’s north inner city told him that on the night of the riot “they were targeted walking home, and others were afraid to leave”.
5. Up to 83 people who had presented to the International Protection Office in Dublin hd not been offered accommodation as of Wednesday, since the service ran out of supply at the start of this week.
The Department of Integration said seven people have been offered accommodation retrospectively.
The Department stated earlier this week that it is exploring all possible avenues in order to acquire further accommodation to house International Protection Applicants (IPAs).
6. Like his life and music, MacGowan’s funeral mass was unconventional, and filled with warmth, compassion, and storytelling.
His funeral cortege made its way to Nenagh, Co Tipperary for a funeral Mass after passing through Dublin yesterday morning, where hundreds of mourners lined the streets.
Performances by the likes of Nick Cave and Lisa O’Neill of some of Shane’s most famous songs drew plaudits and even dancing in the aisles of St Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh.
7. Hollywood actor Ryan O’Neal has died “peacefully” at the age of 82, his son Patrick announced.
The US actor rose to international stardom after his Oscar-nominated turn as Oliver in the romantic 1971 film Love Story, opposite Ali MacGraw, later starring in What’s Up, Doc? with Barbra Streisand, and Paper Moon, opposite his daughter Tatum, who won an Academy Award at the age of 10 for her performance.
He also took the titular role in Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleonic epic Barry Lyndon, large sections of which was shot in Ireland.
8. The Department of Education expects to spend around €28 million on renting prefab buildings for hundreds of schools next year, matching this year’s expenditure.
Currently, 455 schools are renting prefab accommodation, including 323 primary schools and 123 post-primary schools.
The figures were released to Labour’s education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who said the figures were “incredible”, adding: “No child should have to endure their education in a temporary structure, especially during the cold winter months.”
9. The remains of two baby dinosaurs have been discovered inside the fossil of a 75-million-year-old tyrannosaur, shedding new light on the changing diet of the ancient predators.
According to a study published in the journal Science Advances, the hind limbs of two small bird-like dinosaurs called citipes were found beneath the rib cage of a juvenile gorgosaurus, a close cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
The researchers behind the study say the discovery suggests juvenile gorgosaurus’ preyed on small, young dinosaurs, while earlier fossil evidence shows the adult gorgosaurus attacked and ate very large plant-eating dinosaurs which lived in herds.
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