GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news you need to know to start the day.
Waterford fire funeral details
1. Funeral arrangements have been announced for Philip and Kim English, and their two children, Jayden and Callum, who were killed in an arson attack on their home in Waterford on Tuesday morning.
A man and a woman were arrested on Thursday in connection with the gardaí’s investigation into the fatal arson attack.
The members of the English family will repose in the Sacred Heart Church Parish Centre, Waterford, on Sunday from 2pm until 5pm.
‘Chlorine incident’
2. Dublin Fire Brigade has provided an update on an “excess chlorine incident” at a hotel swimming pool in Dublin.
The incident happened at about 3.35pm on Thursday afternoon at the Clayton Hotel in Liffey Valley.
The Dalata Hotel Group, which owns the Clayton, confirmed in a statement that emergency services were notified after “an excess chlorine incident occurred within the swimming pool”.
Horse Manure
3. Dublin City Council has said it has no plans to reintroduce a horse manure disposal service after locals and councillors called for action on the ongoing issue of illegal dumping of horse manure in the Cabra-Glasnevin area.
A local resident told The Journal on Monday that she saw “57 bags of horse manure” dumped in a green area by the Royal Canal in Dublin 7 last Thursday, and said they were still there Monday.
Councillors said the problem of illegal dumping of horse manure has worsened since the council shut down a horse manure disposal service at Sweeney’s Terrace, Dublin 8, last year, citing health and safety reasons.
Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’
4. US President Donald Trump has called Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace”, as his so-called energy ceasefire collapsed after failing to fully materialise.
Trump had declared a halt to strikes on energy infrastructure from both sides, although neither Ukraine nor Russia had confirmed there was any such agreement.
US school shooting
5. A 16-year-old opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher before he was shot by a person at the scene who pursued him into the school, authorities said.
Authorities found the suspect dead inside the school minutes after the shooting was first reported, Bend Police chief Mike Krantz said.
The three children killed were aged five, eight and 11.
Screen time
6. One fifth of eight to 12-year-olds fall asleep watching a screen – and the figure rises to 37% among young teens up to the age of 15.
Meanwhile, a third of primary school children and two thirds of secondary school children have no time restrictions on their online activity.
The findings come from a survey of 1,200 children by CyberSafeKids, an online safety charity.
Murdered garda
7. The family of Detective Garda Colm Horkan has called for a public inquiry into his death.
Detective Horkan was shot dead in Castlerea in County Roscommon in June 2020 by Stephen Silver, who took Garda Horkan’s gun from his holster. Silver was later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to a minimum 40 years in prison.
A garda whistleblower, Detective Superintendent Brian O’Reilly, alleged on an RTÉ Investigates programme last month that the holster was defective and a contributory factor in his murder.
Price freeze
8. Electricity and gas provider Yuno Energy has announced a price freeze for its customers this winter, becoming the third company to do so this year.
The announcement comes after the company increased its prices in May.
Yuno Energy said the freeze would apply to its roughly 100,000 electricity and gas customers. It is the second year in a row the company has done so.
Channel Tunnel crash
9. A minibus collided with a train near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel in France on Thursday evening, injuring the driver and 18 passengers, authorities said.
Five people were severely injured though no one’s life appeared to be in danger, the local prefect said in a statement.
The minibus was carrying truck drivers who were heading to travel on a shuttle train service through the tunnel.