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

1.#MURDER: A man remains in custody today in connection with the discovery of the bodies of two young brothers earlier this week. The remains of 10-year-old Eoghan Chada and 5-year-old Ruairi Chada were brought home last night. Their funeral will take place tomorrow.

2. #AIB: State-owned bank AIB has posted half-year operating losses before tax of €572 million. However, management have said the results are “encouraging” as the bank showed a return to pre-provision profit, coming in at €162 million in the same period.

3. #EDUCATION: The annual School Costs Survey by children’s charity Barnardos has revealed that parents are continuing to struggle with the high cost of sending their children back to school, with it costing almost €800 to send a child into first year of secondary school.

4. #BRITISH STATE PAPERS: British state papers from 1983, released for the first time, have revealed the British cabinet suspected a 25 per cent rise in the popularity of Sinn Féin that year to be fraudulent, RTÉ reports. The papers also show that civil servants drafted a “World War Three” speech for Queen Elizabeth in the case of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.

5. #NURSE RECRUITMENT: The Nurses and Midwives Association has claimed newly qualified nurses are only being recruited on a graduate scheme which pays less than full pay. The union is to ask the Labour Relations Court to intervene in the matter, claiming it contradicts assurances received from the HSE during the Haddington Road talks.

6. #DUBLIN BUS: Dublin Bus says it does not have a contingency plan for alternative transport for customers if a strike goes ahead, as threatened, on Sunday.

7. #SYMPHYSIOTOMY: The Minister for Health James Reilly will meet with groups representing victims of symphysiotomy this morning, ahead of the anticipated publication of a long-awaited report into the outdated surgical procedure.

8. #ZIMBABWE: Vote-counting is underway following Zimbabwe’s presidential election, which sees 33-yea incumbent Robert Mugabe go head-to-head with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

9. #SPIKE ISLAND: UCC’s Spike Island Archaeological Project team have identified up to 250 previously unmarked burial plots on the site of a once-notorious prison on Spike Island, Cork – all dating from Famine times.