TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Vicky Phelan arriving at Leinster House this afternoon to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on the Cervical Check scandal. Ms Phelan won a €2.5 million settlement after she received incorrect smear test results which failed to diagnose her with cervical cancer. Mr Teap’s wife Irene was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and died last year after two undisclosed false tests in 2010 and 2013. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• Vicky Phelan appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this evening to discuss the negative impact the CervicalCheck controversy has had on their lives.
• Children’s groups reacted angrily after the government was defeated in a Dáil vote today around the digital age of consent, with the age being set at 16.
• The government announced that it was increasing the availability of free contraception such as condoms and diaphragms in a bid to reduce crisis pregnancies.
• A jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure in the case of a prisoner who died after ingesting a package received during a visit.
• Dublin Bus said that  it is an “iconic brand” that should be used as much as possible as concern was raised in the Dáil that the operator could be “erased from the public transport map”.
• A tourist died after falling while walking along the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks range.
• Senator Catherine Noone said that Monday’s Claire Byrne Live debate was “a demeaning environment to be in” and that there was “a level of aggression” from the No side that she found difficult to relate to.
• A number of consultant psychiatrists announced that they have written a letter to Minister for Health Simon Harris outlining their concerns for abortion for mental health reasons.
• Gardaí said that they believed most Islamic extremists who left Ireland to fight alongside Islamic State in Syria or Iraq are either dead or missing.
• The acting head of the HSE apologised for the confusion and alarm which was created in relation to the Cervical Check programme “as a result of the failure to communicate with the women affected”.
• Disability minister Finian McGrath said problems interviewing some of the witnesses in the Grace case could not have been predicted, as he confirmed the Commission of Investigation into the case was being granted an extra 12 months to complete its work.
• Tributes were paid to Irish playwright Tom Murphy, who has died at the age of 83.

WORLD

Demonstrators wave flags as they stage a protest to condemn the Israeli fire along the Gaza Strip at Trocadero plaza in Paris, France. AP Photo / Michel Euler AP Photo / Michel Euler / Michel Euler

#INDONESIA: Four men who attacked an Indonesian police headquarters with samurai swords were shot dead with one officer killed.

#BREXIT: The UK is reportedly set to throw its diplomatic weight behind a previously-unthought of third option for solving the conundrum of the Irish border post-Brexit.

#UNITED STATES: The White House said that it is aware of reports that North Korea has cast doubt over the much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

PARTING SHOT

In the great age of internet distraction, people have lost hours debating the colours of certain clothing items.

Today, the debate was whether you heard “Yanny” or “Laurel” when a piece of audio played.

Confused? Well listen to this and then read this.

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