Lunchtime briefing: Mental health and suicide crisis ‘a national emergency’. Catch up on the headlines

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

IRELAND

The Government is under pressure to make mental health and suicide prevention a national emergency after the Dáil heard concerns about 16 people taking their own lives in two weeks in Cork.

More than 2,500 children will be homeless in Ireland on Christmas day.

The Government plans to introduce computer science, including coding, as a Leaving Cert subject.

University College Cork’s unprecedented €241m outlay on capital expenditure is a ringing endorsement of the institution, according to college president Dr Michael Murphy.

WORLD 

At least 40 people have been killed and more are feared trapped in a scaffolding collapse at a construction site in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangxi.

Donald Trump issued a unifying Thanksgiving message as he worked to include some of his former critics in his White House team.

A Florida college student accused of randomly killing a couple and chewing on the dead man's face had no detectable hallucinogenic drugs in his system, the FBI has said.

Tokyo residents woke up to the first November snowfall in more than 50 years this morning.

SPORT

The Republic of Ireland are 23rd in the latest FIFA world rankings, released this morning.

UEFA, the FAI and Dublin City Council have launched the Dublin logo as a host city venue for EURO 2020 and people aren’t too sure about it.

In a shock development, Peter O’Mahony was yesterday released from the Irish camp preparing for Saturday’s clash with Australia and will now lead Munster against Treviso in the Guinness PRO12 at Thomond Park on the same day.

Australia’s back-row strength sets up an epic battle, writes Brendan O’Brien.

OPINION

Once gossip takes the place of factual news you are marking time until your democracy collapses, writes Victoria White.

Fiachra Ó Cionnaith looks at changes the Central Bank has made to mortgage rules and answers the questions that arise.

BUSINESS

The Central Bank had by accident dropped into a political fight which it was never going to lose, but has nonetheless avoided a much messier outcome by sanctioning only minor changes to its inflexible mortgage lending rules.

The box office success of Element Pictures for the multi-award winning Room resulted in a bumper year for the company last year.

LIFESTYLE

The financial hardship cancer patients endure is seldom seen, says George F Winter

SHOWBIZ

The pilot who safely landed a passenger plane on New York’s Hudson River was “very particular” on how Tom Hanks would portray him in Hollywood movie Sully, the actor has revealed.

VIRAL

A dog that was morbidly obese has broken records at a national pet slimming competition by shedding an insane 39% of his body weight in just six months.

Wexford is a town not afraid of tackling the big issues, if this recent headline is anything to go by.

VIDEO - OUR CHOICE

On a bright November day, what could be better than a trip to Inchydoney Island, West Cork?

TECHNOW

GAMING: Those folks at Steam have done it again, and by done it we mean reduced prices on over 13,000 titles across their digital store.

MOVIES/TV: Passengers is coming, and it could be quite the event.

TECH: A new world record has been achieved for a basketball throw into a net. And this one is pretty spectacular.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

University College Cork’s unprecedented €241m outlay on capital expenditure is a ringing endorsement of the institution, according to college president Dr Michael Murphy.