Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you start your day.
1. #STATE PAPERS: Documents released under the 30-year-rule have given a behind-the-scenes glimpse of State matters in 1982 for the first time. The official papers, correspondence and memos – which are soon to be made accessible to the public – discuss issues such as the Falklandsonflict, Ireland’s turmoil over the abortion amendment, Charles Haughey’s anti-smoking campaign, thalidomide compensation, Fidel Castro’s visit, a diplomatic row over the birth of Britain’s Prince William, and even how Guinness contemplated cutting the Irish connection.
2. #WARNING: Met Éireann has issued a severe weather warning over gale force winds expected today. Southerly winds with some very severe or damaging gusts are expected this evening, reaching storm force 10 at times on coasts from Slyne Head to Erris Head to Malin Head.
3. #JOBSWATCH: Small and medium-sized businesses are the key to major jobs growth in the new year – but only if they are given the right conditions to survive and grow, the Small Firms Association has said. Chairman AJ Noonan says that if 2013 saw small businesses placed at the heart of economic policy, it could lead to the creation of 20,o00 new jobs in the the coming year.
4. #KNIFE CRIME: Two men and a woman have been hospitalised with stabbing injuries after a disturbance at a house in north Belfast in the early hours of Thursday morning. Three men aged 24, 26 and 28 were arrested shortly after the incident and are currently being questioned by the PSNI.
5.#TOURISM: While a greater number tourists from mainland Europe and North America visited Ireland over 2012, fewer visitors came from Britain, according to new figures released by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. Visitor numbers from Britain fell by 100,000 last year, RTÉ reports.
6. #MICHAELA MCAREAVEY: Police in Mauritius investigating the murder of Michaela McAreavey have identified a new suspect in the case and have sent details to the country’s public prosecutor, the Tyrone Times reports. McAreavey, the daughter of Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte, was murdered while on honeymoon at the Legends Hotel in Post Louis in January 2011.
7. #SANDRA COLLINS: A man aged in his 40s who was arrested yesterday evening in connection with the murder of Sandra Collins in the Killala area of Co Mayo on 4/5 December 2000 will appear before a special sitting of Ballina District Court today. The 4 December 2012 marked 12 years since the day Sandra went missing at the age of 28.
8. #INDIA: A 23-year-old Indian woman is “struggling against the odds” to survive today after suffering a heart attack and brain injuries as a result of being beaten and gang-raped in New Delhi on 16 December. The victim was air-lifted to a hospital in Singapore earlier this week, where she underwent three abdominal surgeries due to injuries sustained in the attack. The Indian government has responded to public outrage over the attack by vowing to strengthen police security in the capital.
9. #EUROZONE: Shares in the Spanish bank Bankia have fallen almost 20 per cent following the country’s bank rescue fund revealing that the troubled lender has a negative value of -€4.2billion – suggesting losses on bad loans are even worse than previously thought, the BBC reports.
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