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

1. #PAY REVIEW: Former minister Brian Lenihan approved a raft of salary hikes for semi-state bosses, despite the falling economy, the Independent reports. The increases included pushing one ESB executive’s basic salary from €377k in 2007 to over €432k in 2009. Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports this morning that it seems the government’s review of public sector pay will focus on senior positions. The McCarthy Report this week recommended a review of conditions and pay at all commercial state companies.

2. #TERRORISM: Police investigating the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr on 2 April have charged a 33-year-old man from Omagh over terrorism offences including the possession of explosives and firearms, the BBC reports.

3. #JAPAN: The Japanese government has approved a massive emergency budget of 4 trillion yen to help earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts, according to the AFP. Meanwhile, Kyodo News reports that the governor of Fukushima said today that he will never allow the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to resume its operations at the stricken plant. TEPCO has already indicated that the plant will be decommissioned as soon as possible.

4. #TABLET WARS: Just days after Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung for alleged patent infringement with its Galaxy tablet design, Samsung has returned the favour. Bloomberg reports that Samsung is now suing Apple – over alleged patent infringement.

5. #LUCKY: A British tourist managed to break the fall of a young child who fell from the fourth-floor balcony of a hotel in Florida. CNN reports that Briton Helen Beard was at the hotel pool when she saw the child dangling from the balcony and rushed to catch her before she fell.

6. #LIBYA: Barack Obama has approved the use of unmanned Predator drones to attack Gaddafi’s forces. Pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces continue to fight at Misrata, which has been under siege for weeks. Such drones are already used to target militants along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

7. #HEADING HOME: The young boy who was seriously injured at a swimming pool in Galway has recovered enough to go home from hospital. The father of four-year-old Bradley Sweeney said he would “never get over” the shock of the incident, saying that the family could so easily have been preparing a funeral instead of a welcome-home party.

8. #METEOR: The mobile phone company Meteor has announced a drop in earnings of 19 per cent for last year. The company said it managed to maintain its customer base and improve coverage, although the Irish Times reports that Meteor’s pre-tax profits fell 75 per cent.

9. #FRIDAY FEELING: Those Russian presidents really know how to let their hair down… In the spirit of the bank holiday weekend, here’s a video of Dmitry Medvedev burning up the dance floor:

Video uploaded by KremlinLivia