Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know before 9am…

1. #BUDGET LEAKS Business groups are warning that consumers will head over the border into Northern Ireland as a result of the VAT increase from 21 per cent to 23 per cent. RTÉ reports this morning that Dundalk Chamber of Commerce have said that the move will have a massive impact on businesses in the town, while IBEC slammed the move, saying that increasing VAT will undermine the domestic recovery. The VAT increase is just one of a number of leaked budget details obtained by TheJournal.ie.

2. #BANDON The family of the English man whose body was found in the River Bandon in Cork on Tuesday have been contacted. The Irish Independent reports that relatives of John Forrester will travel to Ireland after being located by Gardaí and police in England. The funeral of a second man whose body was also recovered from the river on Sunday will take place today.

3. #BAILOUT The Irish Times reports this morning that the late Brian Lenihan and the former Taoiseach Brian Cowen resisted the bailout for more than two months in 2010 before the loan application was finally made on 21 November. EU economics commissioner Oli Rehn has said that it was obvious in September that Ireland would likely require a bailout.

4. #ANIMAL CRUELTY Mc Donald’s has dropped a US egg supplier after shocking video emerged of cruelty to animals at farms owned by the supplier. Animal rights group Mercy for Animals taped images of employees cutting the tips off chick’s beaks and swinging a bird around by its feet.

5. #WALKOUT A strike by teachers in Northern Ireland is expected to shut almost every school next Wednesday 30 November. The Irish News reports that more than 1,000 of the 1,200 schools will be affected by the walkout, which is a result of teacher anger over changes to pensions.

6. #SYRIA Eleven people have died in clashes in Syria, as the government approaches a deadline set by the Arab League to curtail violent crackdowns on protesters. Yesterday Syria agreed “in principle” to allow an observer mission into the country.

7. #CONTAMINATION It’s emerged that a batch of food aid sent to Kenya was contaminated with the fungus the fungus Aflatoxin. Al Jazeera reports that the aid, supplied by the Red Cross, has the potential to attack the liver and slow the development of children.

8. #READER COMMENTS This week you, the lovely readers of TheJournal.ie have been talking about leaked Budget documents, the killings in Bandon and why the US Congress ruled that pizza can be considered a vegetable. Did your comment make it into the week’s top ten?

9. #JEREMY LONDON Finally, remember Griffin from Party of Five, Nathan from I’ll Fly Away, T.S. Quint in Mallrats? Actor Jeremy London played those parts, and he’s now being sought by police for an alleged assault on his ex-girlfriend. Last year London said that he was kidnapped and forced to smoke drugs in Palm Springs.