LUNCHTIME BULLETIN: HSE-run facility for older people 'appeared institutional and hospital-like'

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IRELAND: A HSE-run facility for older people "appeared institutional and hospital-like" with some residents spending some of the day in bed and eating meals at their bedside, according to a report by health watchdog HIQA.

IRELAND: Two men, who appeared to be armed and were wearing balaclavas, threatened staff and customers of a Co Kilkenny pub before leaving the scene empty-handed following a struggle with the owners.

IRELAND: Gardaí are investigating a hit-and-run and an alleged assault in Dublin. Witnesses have reported seeing a gang of men using weapons attack a man in his 40s.

WORLD: A woman has been arrested in the UK as part of an investigation into saline bags being tampered with at a hospital.

WORLD: Former producer of The Bill, David Harris, offered £200,000 to murder partner Hazel Allinson so he could inherit her fortune and be with a Lithuanian lover 40 years his junior.

BUSINESS: Ireland's economy grew strongly last year - official figures have shown. but contracted at the start of 2017, official figures have shown.

SPORT: Premier League footballer Jermain Defoe wore an England shirt for the funeral of his six-year-old "best friend", Bradley Lowery, whose cancer battle captured hearts around the world. 

... SOME DISTRACTION

SHOWBIZ: Brendan O'Carroll has revealed who Rory Cown’s replacement would be just four days after his announced his departure from the show.

VIRAL: An elephant stranded nine miles out to sea has been rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy.

VIRAL: A workman trapped inside a cash machine in the US was forced to pass handwritten notes through the receipt slot to summon help.