Lunchtime briefing: Basic Income of €150 a week proposed. Catch up on the headlines

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

IRELAND

An international conference has heard a proposal for a Basic Income of  €150 a week  for everyone of working age in Ireland to resolve welfare and work challenges in the country.

A student whose dangerous driving caused the death of a mother and daughter last Christmas was banned yesterday from driving for 15 years  and given a suspended jail sentence.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has been left isolated in the public row  over judicial appointments after Enda Kenny yesterday said he supported the right of the State’s top judge to express her opinion.

87 Stena passengers have finally landed at Fishguard in Wales, after 26 hours at sea.  Stena Line's head of PR and Communications Diane Poole says safety comes first and the captain was taking no chances.

The Coast Guard have  rescued an injured fisherman  from a fishing trawler nearly 300 kilometres off the west coast.

WORLD 

Turkey's government has withdrawn a controversial proposal that critics said would have allowed men accused of sexually abusing under-age girls to go free  if they were married to their victims.

Boko Haram fighters are  overrunning villages  near the Nigerian town of Chibok, forcing hundreds of people to flee as they loot and burn in the area, local leaders have said.

Donald Trump urged Nigel Farage to oppose offshore wind farms  at a recent meeting, it has been reported.

Nigel Farage said he is "very flattered"  by Donald Trump's calls for him to become Britain's next ambassador to the United States.

SPORT

Colm Cooper has questioned the fate of the calendar year proposal  ,believing the will of county managers is a major stumbling block.

The International Rules series will be contested over two games from next year.  Australia will host both tests in November of 2017, marking the return to a multi-year format for the first time since 2013.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Sweden's top player for a  10th successive year  and will have a statue erected in his honour outside the stadium where he embarrassed England.

Ireland may be on the rise but Jamie Heaslip has warned his side face another massive challenge  when Australia come to the Aviva Stadium this Saturday.

OPINION

For generations, disability in Ireland has been seen as the remit of charity, but people with disabilities have begun to rebel against this idea,  writes Fergus Finlay.

Cormac O’Keeffe answer key questions stemming from the Garda Commissioner’s use of her private email account. 

BUSINESS

A ‘shop and save’ promotion has helped Dunnes Stones to capture the biggest share of the spoils in the  supermarket wars,  even as the grocery cake got bigger for all players with consumers spending more at the tills, according to the latest expenditure snapshot ahead of the key Christmas splurge.

The company behind the Topaz fuel and convenience store chain has effectively settled its legal action   against a Dublin-registered company over alleged failure to pay €4.7m to complete a share purchase agreement, the commercial court has heard.

LIFESTYLE

THE Road Safety Authority (RSA) issued advice to motorists on getting ready for bad weather  as far back as September but an unusually mild autumn made it easy to put the suggestions on the long finger, writes Grainne McGuinness.

SHOWBIZ

Kanye West is known for his headline-making actions, with the past few days providing plenty of moments  to add to the list.

VIRAL

The world of entrepreneurship if filled with go-getters and if you want to make it, you just gotta roll with it.  However, this pitch on Dragons' Den is just bog standard.

British model Iskra Lawrence decided to make a pretty clear point about body positivity on a busy train  – by stripping down to her underwear and addressing a carriage of people.

VIDEO - OUR CHOICE

Model enthusiast and event organiser, Micheál Ó Murchú, talks about this year's Model Fest. 

TECHNOW

GAMING: Dishonored 2 is pretty much a triumph of design.

MOVIES/TV: Alarmingly, it has been almost seven years since James Cameron took us to the incredible planet of Pandora for Avatar  and while we not-so-patiently await his long planned series of sequels other plans are afoot.

TECH: Apple isn't big on admitting when it's made a mistake but it seems this one was too big to ignore.  It seems some iPhone 6s models from 2015 have an issue with their battery which causes the devices to power down unexpectedly. If you've had this kind of problem and your phone was made in September or October last year you should be able to get a new battery.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

A student whose dangerous driving caused the death of a mother and daughter last Christmas was banned yesterday from driving for 15 years  and given a suspended jail sentence.