December 13: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds

‘Hazardous’ driving conditions after Ireland sees coldest day in 12 years
Motorists are being urged to slow down and take care as temperatures are set to plunge again overnight. Met Éireann said freezing fog, which will be dense in places, would persist until late on Monday night leading to “very hazardous” driving conditions. The forecaster issued the warning for Connacht, Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. People have been warned to take extra care on the roads over the coming days and to check on the elderly as temperatures could drop well below freezing.
BreakingNews.ie

Ian Bailey says he has information which may be of use to du Plantier investigation
Ian Bailey has said that he has information which may be of use to the cold case review of the murder of French national Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Mr Bailey made the comments following a press conference held by gardaí in West Cork where they called for further witnesses to come forward. Ms du Plantier’s body was found near her holiday home in Toormore, West Cork, on the morning of December 23, 1996. In 2019, Mr Bailey was convicted in absentia by a court in Paris of Ms du Plantier’s murder, but he has always denied having anything to do with it. Mr Bailey said he is fully supportive of the continuing investigation and of the cold case review of the case. Speaking to the Irish Examiner Mr Bailey said: “I am fully cognisant of the cold case review, which I had initially called for and the new appeal. I am standing ready to cooperate and assist the cold case review and have certain information which may be of use and interest.
The Irish Examiner

Woman (50s) dead and a number injured after car crashes into pedestrians in early morning road accident
A woman is dead and a number of others are injured after an early morning accident in which a car crashed into pedestrians. Gardaí are investigating whether icy road conditions were a factor in the Cork road traffic collision where the vehicle crashed into a number of pedestrians resulting in a woman in her 50s suffering fatal injuries. The tragedy occurred at Dromanallig in Ballingeary, Co Cork around 1:10am. A female pedestrian, understood to be aged in her early 50s, was fatally injured. She died at the scene despite desperate attempts to help her. The woman’s body has been removed to Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem will now take place. Two other female pedestrians, both in their 40s, were also taken to Cork University Hospital with serious injuries. However, the injuries involved are not understood to be life-threatening.
Independent.ie

Farmer recalls ‘horror’ of 50 sheep killed in dog attack
An investigation is under way by gardaí after dogs killed 70 sheep on farms in Moneygall, Co Tipperary, and Moyvalley in Co Kildare. A farmer who lost 50 sheep on his farm in Moneygall on the Offaly-Tipperary border has said it was an “horrific” incident over the weekend. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, John Healy said his family rang him on Saturday and told him there was a problem and, when they checked out the field where the sheep were, “the horror started from there”. Mr Healy said his sons, who had gone to check on the sheep, were crying on the phone saying that there were dead sheep everywhere. He said the field was “100% sheep-proof” so they could not escape. Although one managed to get out and ran about three-quarters of a mile to the farmhouse, which is what alerted Mr Healy’s mother to a problem.
RTÉ

Almost half of adverts posted by social media influencers not labelled as such, research finds
Almost half of commercial content posted by influencers is not labelled as advertising, a new review has found. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) today published its report on social media influencers. The report found that 48.4% of the commercial content reviewed by the CCPC was not labelled as advertising in any way. Poor levels of labelling relating to influencers’ marketing of their own brands was an area of particular concern identified in the research. The CCPC’s wide-ranging research also revealed that many consumers who bought as a result of influencer promotions feel they were misled in their purchases. However, consumers said they can be reluctant to report such issues to a regulatory authority such as the CCPC, preferring instead to unfollow such influencers. Consumers raised specific concerns around influencers promoting cryptocurrencies and other financial products, particularly when the influencer had no experience in the area. The report found that just 10% of consumers trust the information provided by influencers.
The Journal

New Zealand imposes lifetime ban on youth buying cigarettes
New Zealand on Tuesday passed into law a unique plan to phase out tobacco smoking by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes. The law states that tobacco can’t ever be sold to anybody born on or after Jan. 1, 2009. It means the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up. In theory, somebody trying to buy a pack of cigarettes 50 years from now would need ID to show they were at least 63 years old. But health authorities hope smoking will fade away well before then. They have a stated goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025. The new law also reduces the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco from about 6,000 to 600 and decreases the amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco that is smoked.
ABC News

Queensland police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow ‘didn’t stand a chance’ in Wieambilla shooting
Queensland’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, has said two officers killed in a shooting in Wieambilla on Monday night “did not stand a chance” and it was a miracle that two others managed to survive the ambush. Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, arrived at the property seeking information about missing man Nathaniel Train when confronted by a “hail of gunshots”, with another officer suffering a bullet graze and a fourth surviving by hiding in long grass. A neighbour was also gunned down. A special response team of 16 officers then shot dead three people following a siege. Speaking from Chinchilla on Tuesday morning, Carroll described the deaths of two officers as “devastating”.
The Guardian

Today’s forecast
Very cold this morning with frost and any icy patches persisting through much of the day, especially in sheltered areas, and while most of the freezing fog will continue to clear a few local patches may persist. Mostly cloudy in the southern half of the country today with rain in the southwest, falling as sleet or snow in places away from the coast, especially over higher ground, causing hazardous driving conditions. Otherwise, it will be dry and mostly bright further to the north. Daytime temperatures between -1°C to +4°C in light to moderate northeasterly winds, fresher in the southwest. Another very cold night but becoming generally dry and clear. There is the chance of an isolated wintry shower near northwest coasts. Widespread frost and some ice patches will develop with lowest temperatures of -5°C to -1°C, or locally lower, in light to moderate northeasterly winds.
Met Éireann