1. A man in his 50’s is due in court this morning charged with firearms offences following a seizure in Ballymun last Thursday. Gardaí discovered €400,000 in cash, a gun, ammunition and a small quantity of cocaine in a raid on a house and arrested the man at the scene.
2. Postmasters have rejected a proposal from An Post on the future of post offices around the country. The decision was made last night after a special national meeting in Athlone, after what the union claimed was two weeks of threats against its members’ contracts.
3. Catalonia’s President has promised to declare independence from Spain, if the result of yesterday’s referendum goes his way. Initial results suggest massive support for self-rule. More than 800 people were injured as police tried to stop them voting.
4. Islamic State claims it was behind a suspected terror attack in which two women were stabbed to death in the French city of Marseille. The suspect was shot dead by soldiers at the main train station yesterday. France’s President says he’s ‘deeply outraged’.
5. Two woman are on trial in Malaysia accused of fatally poisoning the half brother of North Korea’s ruler. The defendants, who face the death penalty if convicted, are suspected of smearing Kim Jong Nam’s face with a nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur airport. The women say they thought they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera show.
6. A week of activities is being rolled out across the country today, as part of Irish Road Safety Week. Transport Minister Shane Ross says we all need to work together to reduce fatalities. Speaking ahead of today’s launch, Minister Ross announced that in the coming weeks he will be bringing a Bill before the Dail that will provide an automatic disqualification for those caught drink driving.
