Irish citizen killed in Ukraine
Fox News video journalist and Irish citizen Pierre Zakrzewski (55) has been killed in Ukraine after the vehicle he was travelling in outside of Kyiv with another reporter was struck by incoming fire, the US network said.
It comes as the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia have boarded a train to Kyiv for the first visit of its kind since the Russian invasion, in a show of European support for Ukraine.
At home, the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland has sent a list of Irish companies which she claims continue to trade with Russia to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ireland is meanwhile ramping up preparations to house Ukrainian refugees after the Government agreed to accept up to 500 people who have fled from Ukraine to Moldova during an emergency virtual Cabinet meeting.
Energy price hike
The outlook for energy customers across Ireland is “bleak,” according to bonkers.ie, as a new price hike announced by Bord Gáis Energy marks the first of the year.
Last year saw more than 35 price hikes from energy suppliers and more are “certain to follow” this year, a spokesman for the product comparison and switching site said.
The increase from Bord Gáis, which said the average electricity bill will rise by 27 per cent and the average gas bill by 39 per cent from April 15th, is projected to add around €350 a year to the average household’s annual gas bill and €340 to the average electricity bill.
The Government said the price hike was “a matter of strong concern” after the Cabinet met virtually to consider the Ukraine crisis and associated challenges arising for Ireland and Europe’s economies, particularly rising energy costs.
Covid surge fears
There is growing concern that there could be a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases over St Patrick's weekend.
16,019 new cases of the virus were logged on Monday, with 6,284 confirmed through the PCR testing system while the remaining 9,735 cases were logged via the HSE's antigen result portal.
Public health officials in Ireland are planning to “reboot” messaging around Covid-19 protection in response to rapidly rising hospitalisations with the virus.
There were 1,047 people in hospital with Covid-19 as of Tuesday morning, after hospitalisations surpassed 1,000 patients for the third time during the pandemic on Monday.
Courts latest
In the courts today, a man who raped his partner with a deodorant can before absconding from his trial and fleeing to the UK has been jailed for four and a half years.
Dublin City Council’s (DCC) prosecution of developers for the "unauthorised demolition" of the former home of 1916 Rising leader Michael Joseph O'Rahilly has meanwhile been delayed by Supreme Court and Court of Appeal actions.
Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters' appeal against the dismissal of their challenge of the constitutionality of laws introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has also opened before the Supreme Court.
Separately, a decorated soldier who sexually abused three neighbourhood boys up to 40 years ago and used his position of trust to his advantage when he targeted them has been jailed for two years.
