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

IRELAND

Katie Daffy from Kildare joined Amnesty International and supporters at a demonstration outside Government Buildings calling for the eighth amendment to be repealed. The vigil will see 12 members added to it daily over the next two weeks – symbolising the number of Irish women and girls who travel to the UK for abortions each day. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• No criminal charges will be brought in the case of the Berkeley balcony collapse that saw six young people killed in California last June.
• Up to 14 vehicles were involved in serious crash on the Midleton to Cork city road.
• More Luas strikes look likely to go ahead at the weekend.
• Gardaí urged motorists to be extra cautious because of heavy rain and hail showers.
• Police in Northern Ireland released images of an officer’s injuries after she was hit in the head with a brick.
• Renua’s director of communications and political strategy John Drennan has quit the party in the wake of its disastrous general election result where it failed to win any seats.
• The US Embassy reminded all Irish passport holders that, from Friday onwards, they’ll need a valid electronic passport if they want to visit America under the Visa Waiver Program.
• A batch of ginger nut biscuits on sale at Aldi has been recalled over fears about their preparation.
• Almost 500,000 people tuned in to watch Centenary last night – the centrepiece of RTÉ’s Easter Rising commemoration coverage.

INTERNATIONAL

US President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base. Andrew Harnik / AP/Press Association Images Andrew Harnik / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images

#CYPRUS: An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir passenger plane and forced it to divert to Cyprus demanding to see his ex-wife surrendered after a six-hour airport standoff ended peacefully.

#CANADA: Seven people have died after a small plane crashed on a group of islands in the east of Canada.

#WASHINGTON DC: The US Capitol in Washington DC went into lockdown for the second day in a row, due to two unattended, suspicious packages.

#US: Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has been charged with assaulting reporter Michelle Fields at an event earlier this month.

#TAIWAN: A man suspected of decapitating a four-year-old girl was beaten by an angry mob.

INNOVATION

• The world’s first virtual reality rollercoaster has opened at Alton Towers.
• A new wine bottle is designed to connect to your WiFi.

PARTING SHOT

The Polish embassy in Dublin has produced this lovely video to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising.

Comments are closed as one of the above stories is before the courts.

Originally published: 9pm

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