EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #FURLONG: Richard Hinds has been found guilty of the murder of Irish student Nicola Furlong, 21, in Japan last May. The 20-year-old was given a sentence of a minimum of five years and a maximum of 10 years with labour. According to RTÉ News, the chief judge said the musician showed ‘no remorse’ and ‘tainted the honour of the victim’. He also said Nicola Furlong was not at fault.
2. #POPE: Political and religious leaders are joining millions of people from across the globe at the Vatican in Rome for the inauguration Mass of Pope Francis. President Michael D Higgins will represent Ireland, while the Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, will represent the government. You can watch the Mass live here.
3. #CYPRUS: MPs are due to vote this afternoon on a €10 billion EU rescue package, which will see Eurozone countries offer €10 billion in emergency funding for the struggling island – with Cyprus due to come up with another €7 billion itself.
4. #SHAMROCK: In an annual St Patrick’s Day tradition, Taoiseach Enda Kenny will present US President Barack Obama with a bowl of shamrock at the White House later. Mr Kenny along with Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore are also set to discuss the thousands of undocumented Irish living in the US, Northern Ireland, EU-US trade and the possibility of Obama visiting Ireland for a second time.
5. #BANKRUPTCY: Some 129 Irish residents relocated to the UK last year to declare themselves bankrupt, an increase of 131 per cent since 2011, according to an article in The Irish Independent based on figures from the ‘Stubbs Gazette’. However, those numbers are set to fall following the publication of Personal Insolvency Bill.
6. #CAP: Following overnight negotiations chaired by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, a compromise proposal on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will be presented in Brussels later, according to RTÉ News.
7. #MISSING: Gardaí in Louth have asked the public for help in tracing the whereabouts of missing Dundalk man, 60-year-old Seán Watters. He was seen Tuesday, 12 March, in the area of the Dundalk Retail Park.
8. #SNOW: Snow showers in mainly Ulster and Leinster surprised many who woke to white lawns and snow covered cars this morning. Met Éireann has issued a snow-ice warning and the AA Roadwatch is urging drivers in affected areas to take care. Flights at Dublin Airport have returned to normal following slight delays earlier.
9. #GREAT ESCAPE: Two prisoners who staged a daring weekend escape from a jail in eastern Canada using a hijacked helicopter have been re-arrested. The inmates were lifted out of Saint-Jerome prison near Montreal on Sunday by accomplices who had seized a helicopter, forcing its pilot to hover over the jail rooftop while the two were hauled up on a rope ladder.
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