Enjoy your coffee break by catching up on all the morning’s top news, every morning at 10:30am on TheLiberal.ie
#1 Pistorius: Athlete found guilty of the manslaughter of former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. While reading out the verdict, Judge Thokozile Masipa indicated that while the athlete acted “negligently”, there was not enough evidence to support the prosecution’s case of willful murder. Pistorius will be sentenced at a later stage.
#2 Road deaths: Three dead in separate accidents in Irish roads over the last 24 hours.Two women and a man have been killed in separate road crashes in counties Louth and Kerry. Heavy fog across parts of the country badly affected driving conditions.
#3 Budget: Up to 290 hospital beds may close if proposed cuts to the health budget go ahead. In a confidential document, the Department of Health has warned the government that further bed closures and cutbacks in surgery numbers could jeopardize patient safety.
#4 Noonan: Minister for Finance Michael Noonan traveling across Europe to seek favorable deals for Ireland on the issue of IMF loan repayments. If successful, the country might save €1.5 billion over the next five years.
#5 Weather: Indian summer set to continue over the next few days. Temperatures forecast to reach 22 degrees on Saturday.