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

IRELAND

Denis O'Brien outside the Four Courts today Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• Gardaí are investigating allegations of a sexual assault on a teenage boy at a secondary school in Dublin.
• The trial of a woman, charged with the manslaughter of her profoundly disabled daughter, heard the 999 call made by her partner on finding the child cold in her bed and her mother unconscious.
• UTV Ireland officially became part of TV3, with the loss of some jobs expected as a result.
• Four men were arrested after gardaí seized €1.1 million-worth of MDMA and heroin in Dublin.
• Businessman Denis O’Brien claimed he and his family received death threats following disclosures made about him in Dáil Éireann in 2015.
• The company that makes the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi called for Health Minister Simon Harris to directly intervene to allow patients to access the drug in Ireland.
• A 56-year-old former Garda, who was forced to retire on medical grounds after he suffered injuries following a “vicious and terrifying” assault, was awarded €250,000 in compensation.
• Students in Cork have been attending classes in ‘freezing conditions’ after their school building was gutted by fire, parents have said.
• Our latest FactCheck takes a look at how many people boycotted water charges.

WORLD

Rihanna and Prince Harry attend the a concert at the Kensington Oval cricket ground in Bridgetown, Barbados - marking 50 years of the island's independence. Chris Radburn PA Wire / PA Images Chris Radburn PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images

#FRANCE: French President Francois Hollande announced he will not seek re-election next year as he bowed to historically low approval ratings after a troubled five years in power.

#AUSTRIA: Six bodies believed to be from same family were found in a house in Austria.

#SOUTH POLE: Buzz Aldrin, the 86-year-old retired US astronaut who was the second man to walk on the moon, has been evacuated from the South Pole for medical reasons.

#US: A SWAT team rescued 11 people held hostage by a gunman at a credit union in Jacksonville, Florida.

INNOVATION

• Taoiseach Enda Kenny met Apple CEO Tim Cook in California.
• Here’s why astronauts train in caves (BBC Future).

PARTING SHOT

Bill Gates Seth Wenig AP / Press Association Images Seth Wenig AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Bill Gates spoke to IFL Science about his plans to save the world.

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