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1. May hopeful of stronger relationship with Ireland after Brexit
Theresa May has said that Britain's relationship with Ireland could be stronger after Brexit and promised to make sure that the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union would not damage the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Writing in The Irish Times a day after she formally notified European Council president Donald Tusk of Britain's intention the leave the EU, the prime minister says she wants Britain and Ireland to remain committed partners.
"I understand the special significance of this relationship and I am personally committed to strengthening it, not weakening it, as the UK leaves the EU," she writes.
2. Poor visibility slows search for missing helicopter with five on board
A search by two UK Coastguard helicopters for a private helicopter with five people on board missing over the Irish Sea was called off last night due to poor visibility.
A spokesman for the UK Coastguard said it was co-ordinating a search operation in the Caernarfon Bay area of North Wales.
The privately owned twin squirrel red helicopter is believed to have left Milton Keynes on Wednesday afternoon en route to Weston Airport in Dublin, via Caernarfon Bay.
3. O'Sullivan to face questions on breath tests at committee
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan will appear before the Oireachtas justice committee this morning to answer questions about how the Garda claimed to have conducted two million drink-driving breath tests between late 2011 and 2016, when only a million were carried out.
In her opening statement to the committee at 9am, Ms O'Sullivan will say she fears the falsification of data within the Garda goes beyond traffic statistics. This is understood to be a reference to the under-reporting of domestic violence, among other issues.
4. Over 70,000 households could face water fines
More than 70,000 households could face prosecution and fines for wasteful use of water, the Oireachtas committee on water charges has proposed.
The 20-member committee has agreed a draft report on the future of the levies, which envisages the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) setting a figure for normal usage of water.
Households using 70 per cent more than that limit could face financial penalties, the rate of which will be decided by the regulator. It is understood the CER will set the average allowance of 127 cubic meters meaning the figure for wilful waste will be 215.9 - 1.7 times normal usage.
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5. Hawaii judge extends court order blocking Trump's travel ban
A federal judge in Hawaii indefinitely extended on Wednesday an order blocking enforcement of president Donald Trump's revised ban on travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim countries.
Judge Derrick Watson turned an earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the state of Hawaii challenging Mr Trump's travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination. Hawaii says the policy discriminates against Muslims and hurts the state's tourist-dependent economy.
And finally: The Troubles did not find Martin McGuinness. He found them
Newton Emerson writes that the extent to which most people got through the Northern conflict by ignoring it is bizarre to recall.