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

1. #EUROZONE: The French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to meet in Paris later today to discuss the ongoing eurozone crisis. The heads of the two most powerful eurozone countries will discuss a joint strategy to the crisis but have indicated that issuing a common euro bond will not be on the agenda.

2. #INQUESTS: Ireland’s pathology service has been described as “unsatisfactory”, “overworked and understaffed”, which is leading to unacceptable delays. The Coroners Society of Ireland says it has asked the Department of Health for extra resources but have not yet received any.

3. #RENTAL PRICES: Domestic rental prices levelled off in the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest quarterly report published by Daft.ie this morning. The report showed that the average rental price had now fallen by a little over 25 per cent from its 2007 average.

4. #IRISH RAIL: Iarnród Éireann has apologised for refusing to allow a same-sex couple to board a train from Dublin to Cork last Sunday after questioning validity of their travel pass. Noel Dolan had a Department of Social Protection-issued travel pass which also covers his partner Juan Carlos Camacho Sanchez – however they were told “Irish Rail doesn’t recognise same-sex marriage”. Irish Rail has offered the men a “sincere apology”.

5. #DISCRIMINATION: A Traveller who was asked to leave a Mothercare shop in Carrickmines Retail Park, Dublin, two years ago has been awarded €1,500 by the Equality Tribunal. Margaret Connors said that she felt “humiliated” after she and her eight-year-old daughter were refused service and requested to leave by a member of staff.

6. #TEMPLE BAR: The father of a man who was hospitalised following an attack in Dublin’s Temple Bar has said that his son is “floating between life and death”. A French Canadian man has been charged with assault causing harm to French Doctor Guilliame Osterstock, who remains in a coma in Beaumount Hospital following the assault on Sunday.

7. #OIL SPILL: Oil giant Shell has said that the oil spill in the North Sea, which began last Wednesday, is now “under control”. Some 216 tonnes of oil have gushed into the ocean off the coast of Aberdeen in Scotland since the spill began, the London Telegraph reports.

8. #LIBYA: Rebel advances in Libya are hampering Col Muammar Gaddfi’s ability to remain in control of the capital Tripoli. Opposition forces are coming close to cutting supply routes to Tripoli, while Gaddafi has also suffered the defection of  his Interior Minister – who has abandoned his post and fled to Egypt.

9. #JUST A PRETTY FACE: People with symmetrical faces are widely considered to be more beautiful than others, however they are also likely to be more selfish and less likely to cooperate with other people, according to the the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921.

The study analysed 15 facial “landmarks”, including the positions of the eyes, nose, mouth and ears of participants, and monitored them though life. It found that more conventionally attractive people tended to look out for their own interests more and –  just for good measure – also found they tended to be more healthy than their homelier counterparts, reports BioScholar.