EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.

1.#RACE FOR THE ÁRAS Seán Gallagher is the firm favourite to be the next president of Ireland as he holds a 15 per cent lead on Michael D Higgins in the latest poll out this morning. With less than 72 hours until voting begins, candidates are making that last push for support as well as taking part in two debates today. Meanwhile, voting has already begun on some islands.

2.#TURKEY The death toll from yesterday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey has risen to 217 according to the country’s interior minister. One hundred and seventeen people have been killed in the city of Ecris while in Van some 100 people were killed. More deaths are likely with people trapped in as many as 40 buildings that have collapsed in Ecris alone.

3.#REFERENDUMS Eight former attorneys general have voiced their opposition to the two proposed amendments to the constitution that will be voted on this Thursday. In an unprecedented move, the former AGs have voiced their opposition to giving the Oireachtas special powers of inquiry whilst questioning the manner in which it is proposed judges’ pay be cut in a joint letter to national newspapers today.

4. #EUROZONE Eurozone leaders spent the weekend locked in talks over a deal to solve the sovereign debt crisis with Taoiseach Enda Kenny emerging with new hope for an agreement. Elsewhere, BBC News reports on a simmering row between British PM David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, the latter believing only Eurozone nations should attend Wednesday’s final talks.

5. #COLD CASE The investigation into the murder of a police inspector nearly 40 years ago has been reopened. Bill Elliot was shot in a bank raid in Belfast after a shoot-out with republicans from the official IRA in September 1974. The case is being examined again by the PSNI Serious Crime Branch after a review of the killing found potential new leads, according to the PSNI.

6. #LIBYA Libya was declared liberated yesterday with National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil declaring that future laws would have the Islamic code, Sharia, as their basic source. Such a declaration was more radical than expected and a proposal to ban interest in the financial industry is a blow to those who had hoped the country would integrate its economy further into the western world, according to The Telegraph.

7. #SHOCKING A 10-year-old boy could be scarred for life after he was mauled by a bull terrier which had been fed a can of Stella Artois. The boy from Lancashire, in northwest England, was bitten in the face after leaning over his next door neighbour’s fence to stroke the dog, the Telegraph reports.

8. #CHEAP DINING Fancy a three-course dinner for as little as €15 this week? Then you could be in luck with restaurants across the capital taking part in the ‘Dine in Dublin – Restaurant Week’ which will offer diners a 20 per cent discount on á la carte prices. Check out which restaurant is offering what.

9. #CASH FOR SWEETS With Halloween less a week away, a dentist in the US  state of Ohio is offering cash and prizes in exchange for sweets. Craig Callen is leading an “anti-decay movement” according to the Mansfield Journal News which adds that kids will get $1 dollar per pound of candy and free toothbrushes.