EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #FATAL: The deaths of two men in Kildare last night brought to five the number of people who died on roads in the Republic over the weekend.

2. #FRIGHTFUL: High winds and rain has left over 6,500 homes and businesses without power this morning. Commuters are also affected.

3. #JOBS: Over 1,200 jobs are to be created by three companies. The BWG group, which owns Spar, Ribworld and Solarwinds.

4. #SHORTAGE: The amount properties on the housing market is at its lowest level since 2007.

5. #OCCUPY: Protesters in Hong Kong have dwindled to several hundred as civil servants in Government buildings return to work.

6. #CHILDREN: The Child Care Law Reporting Project has detailed 24 new cases including one of a court ordered home extension for two siblings in care to stay together. 

7. #MADDIE: A woman accused of directing Twitter abuse at the parents of Madeleine McCann has been found dead in a hotel according to Sky News.

8. #TOBACCO LOBBY: The Irish Examiner reports that Ireland’s foreign affairs minister was given a letter in Washington last week from 71 organisations opposed to Ireland’s proposed ban on tobacco branding.

9. #ELECTION: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff won a first-round election victory but will face a run-off to win a second four-year term.