Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you really need to know before you start your day.

1. #CORK CRASH: An investigation is underway into the cause of yesterday’s fatal plane crash in Cork as the airline boss, Manx2 chairman Noel Hayes, last night defended the actions of the pilot, saying that he had followed standard procedures. He added that alternative airports had been made available to the plane, the Irish News reports. Hayes told today’s Morning Ireland programme that to his knowledge, the plane had never had any problems before – despite reports in today’s papers that it was 20 years old and had been involved in an emergency landing before. Cork airport will remain closed until this afternoon. An initial report is expected within a month, though the full investigation will take longer.

2. #VICTIMS: The six victims of the disaster have been named as Captain Michael Evans, Brendan McAleese, Pat Cullinan, Richard Noble from England, the pilot Jordi Gola Lopez, and co-pilot Andrew Cantle. President Mary McAleese referred to the ‘shared pain’ of the families, and spoke about her husband’s first cousin, Brendan McAleese, who was a “fine and loving husband, father, son and brother”. Meanwhile, more details have emerged in all of today’s papers on the survivors of the accident.

3. #GE11: Campaigning continues for General Election 2011. Labour and the Greens are due to launch their manifestoes today, while Fianna Fail is to outline its health policy and Fine Gael will reveal its plans for small business owners.

4. #CHILDCARE: Childcare costs can differ by almost €5,000 per year even in the same area, according to a survey published by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) yesterday. The average price across all regions for full time care for a six month old baby was €191 per week, but this was as high as €268 in Central Dublin.

5. #TRIAL: The convicted dentist Colin Howell sedated both his wife and his lover, Hazel Stewart, in order to allow the affair to continue, a court has heard. He sedated his lover before they had sex so she wouldn’t experience any Christian guilt, the Independent reports. Stewart denies murdering her husband Trevor Buchanan and Howell’s wife Lesley in May 1991.

6. #IAN BAILEY: A judge is due to give a decision on 18 March on whether Ian Bailey should be extradited to France in connection with the killing of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Cork 14 years ago.

7. #MORTGAGES: EBS Building Society has become the latest to raise its variable mortgage rate, as the Independent reports that the cost of living rises faster than at any time since 2008. It emerged last night that Permanent TSB will charge up to 9 per cent to a group of customers to whom it has a contractual obligation to offer a fixed rate.

8. #EGYPT: A widespread day of protests is expected in Egypt as President Hosni Mubarak chose not to step down. US President Barack Obama has indicated that he is impatient for a credible transition.

9. #TRAGIC: A teenage girl in Britain collapsed and died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SAD) minutes after she was kissed for the first time, an inquest heard yesterday.