GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. Órla Ryan reports that a split has emerged among councillors on Dublin City Council over the best approach to take when filling the seat held by the late councillor Anthony Flynn.
Filling the vacant seat is on the agenda at Monday’s monthly council meeting but some councillors have called for a vote on Flynn’s replacement to be postponed by at least a month.
Investigations are continuing into allegations of sexual assault against Anthony Flynn, the late founder of Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH).
2. It’s just over a week away, and the kites are already flying.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe indicated this week that the government is expecting to see a “very strong rebound” in the Irish economy.
But he also said he would not use the better-than-expected growth to further increase the amount of money available for spending hikes and tax cuts in Budget 2022.
3. A former policeman suspected of being the serial killer behind some of France’s oldest unsolved cases has been found dead after 35 years of dodging arrest, just as police were closing in on his identity.
Francois Verove, 59, took his own life at his rented home in the south of France after receiving a summons for questioning, leaving a “written statement” and with DNA evidence then confirming his identity, the Paris prosecutor and sources said.
The man, nicknamed ‘Le Grele’ (‘pockmarked’), had been wanted by police since the 1980s for the murder and rape of young girls, but was never caught.
4. US President Joe Biden has pledged at the Capitol to “get it done” as Democrats strained to rescue a scaled-back version of his €3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan and salvage a related public works bill after days of frantic negotiations resulted in no deal.
Biden huddled with House Democrats in a private meeting that was part instructional, part morale booster for the tattered caucus of politicians, telling them he wanted both bills passed regardless of the time it takes.
5. The Northern Ireland Protocol “could in principle work”, Boris Johnson has said, but it will be a case of “fixing it or ditching it”.
But Johnson did not rule out triggering Article 16, the BBC reported.
Speaking in an interview with BBC News Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister said: “The fundamental problem for us is that it is very difficult to operate in an environment where the EU system can decide when and how many checks can be carried out across the Irish Sea.”
6. Gardai tasked with heading up a probe into claims that members of the force have been aiding a Dublin drugs gang are now trawling through a significant amount of digital data in the wake of their operation this week.
Officers from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) raided the homes of several serving members of the gardaí in recent days.
Phones, as well as other devices, were seized by the specialist gardaí.
Investigators will be examining messages on social media, as well as in WhatsApp groups, during their searches of the devices.
7. The multinational science and technology company Merck has said that its experimental Covid-19 pill reduced stays in hospital and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus.
The company said it would soon ask health officials around the world to authorise its use.
If cleared, Merck’s drug would be the first pill shown to treat Covid-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic.
8. teachers would prefer to see long-term investment in the education sector than a once-off pandemic bonus, teachers’ unions have said.
In a joint statement this week, three teachers’ unions said they would expect to be included in any discussions on acknowledging workers’ contributions throughout the pandemic.
It followed remarks by senior government members that a bonus payment for frontline workers is under consideration.
9. A new flow of lava emerged from the volcano erupting in Spain’s Canary islands, authorities said, as a huge magma shelf continues to build on the Atlantic ocean.
The fresh outpouring of molten rock began around 2:30 am, Spain’s IGME geological institute said, adding that it was coming from a new exit on the side of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island.
Videos posted online by IGME and the Volcanic Institute of the Canaries (Involcan) showed a large stream of glowing lava moving across charred earth.
The new flow in the archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa comes on top of magma forming a huge platform in the Atlantic ocean, which has grown beyond 20 hectares.
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