Your Wednesday evening catch-up

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

TOP STORY

Russia has started to launch airstrikes in Syria, according to a US defence official. The move follows a unanimous vote by Russian lawmakers to allow President Vladimir Putin to order airstrikes in Syria, where Russia has deployed fighter jets and other weapons in recent weeks.

IRELAND

A network of Irish families have been identified in Ireland to provide immediate homes for up to 20 children affected by the crisis in Syria. The families, all approved as hosts in line with the Hague convention, are working with the International Orphan Aid Ireland (IOAI), to accommodate orphans and

Leo Varadkar has denied leaking an email to the media in which he said “heads will have to roll” because of the emergency department overcrowding crisis. The Health Minister also said 300 hospital beds are to be made available to help alleviate overcrowding in Emergency Departments and that they will be coming on stream in the coming weeks.

Owners in a controversial apartment block were told last night they have to come up with €4m in less than a week or Dublin Fire Brigade will move to have the building evacuated. The fire brigade has threatened twice in the last six weeks to apply for a fire safety notice if remedial works to make the 299-unit Longboat Quay safe are not started immediately.

WORLD

A nurse died in mysterious circumstances after claiming she had been sexually abused by a Satanic cult, an inquest in England has heard. Carol Myers, 41, claimed her family were Satanists who abused her and that her mother murdered her sister and then set fire to the house to hide the evidence.

A county clerk who went to jail for defying court orders to issue same-sex marriage licences says she met briefly with the pope during his historic visit to the United States. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, did not deny the encounter took place – but said he had no comment on the topic.