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

1. #FUKUSHIMA: The operation to clean up radioactive water at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima power plant in Japan has been suspended just hours after it began due to rapidly rising radiation levels, Kyodo News reports.

2. #REGRETS: Junior Minister John Perry told a meeting in Sligo last night that it had been a mistake to promise that breast cancer services would be returned to Sligo within the first 100 days of the new government’s term, according to Ocean FM. Perry hung up the phone during a live interview with Ocean FM recently when questioned about plans to restore the services.

3. #SOUTH KOREA: South Korean troops mistakenly fired at a passenger plane yesterday, believing it to be a North Korean aircraft, according to the BBC. The plane, which was preparing to land at Seoul airport at the time, was fortuntately out of range and was not damaged.

4. #RACHEL: The family of Rachel Peavoy, 30, who died of hypothermia at her flat in Ballymun, Co Dublin, in January 2010 is demanding the introduction of a law to protect vulnerable “people like her in Dublin and around the country”, the Examiner reports.

5. #SYRIA: The US is considering whether war crimes charges can be brought against Syria, the AFP reports, as unrest continues in Syria. CNN reports that actress and UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie yesterday visited Syrian refugees who had fled to Turkey to draw attention to the difficulties they face.

6. #TRAGIC: A teenage boy from Killarny who died after falling down a set of stairs after he had been drinking with his friends succumbed to serious head injuries and hypothermia, according to an inquest into his death. The Independent reports that the coroner said that alcohol had caused the onset of the hypothermia, despite his friends covering him with a duvet as he lay snoring on the floor.

7.#ITALY: Italy’s credit rating is on review for a downgrade, according to Moody’s. RTÉ reports that the ratings agency cited negative investor sentiment towards Eurozone sovereign debt as a factor in its decision.

8. #REAL SPONGEBOB: A new mushroom species has been named after the popular cartoon character Spongebob, according to National Geographic. Spongiforma squarepantsii was found last year in Malaysia and bears a strong resemblance to Spongebob.

9. #RORY MCILROY: It’s all eyes on Rory today at the US Open after he broke records by hitting 13-under par at the tournament. McIlroy currently stands 11-under and six strokes ahead of second-placed YE Yang heading into the third round of the event today.

[caption id="attachment_158422" align="alignnone" width="397" caption="Rory McIlroy after his eagle on the eighth hole during the second round of the US Open Championship yesterday. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)"][/caption]