IN A SPECIAL Christmas Eve Fix, TheJournal.ie brings you a roundup of the day’s main stories – plus any bits and pieces you may have missed.

• A second young man has died following a car crash in Kilkenny yesterday afternoon. Mullinavat local Martin Duggan, 20, died in hospital this morning. A third occupant – the driver – remains in a stable condition at Waterford Regional.
• Russia is witnessing its largest protests since the Soviet collapsed in 1991. An anti-Putin sentiment is growing following parliamentary elections which are widely thought to have been fraudulent.
• Prince Philip is recovering in hospital after undergoing heart surgery in Cambridge, England last night. It is hoped he will be well enough to return to Norfolk for the royal festivities tomorrow. It has been reported that the family delayed its usual traditional Christmas Eve gift exchange so that he can participate.
• Planning permission has been sought to demolish Ireland’s first skyscraper, Liberty Hall, and replace it with an even tall building.
• Sinn Féin has criticised the government about reports that the HSE plans to close down ten publicly-run community nursing homes next year.
• Santa Claus started his long journey hours ago and has already delivered presents to children in Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Check out his progress here.
• Speaking of presents, we’ve continued our Christmas burning questions series by asking you when is the best time to open presents.

That’s a good “I’m surprised and I love the present look” from a Sclater’s Lemur as gifts are delivered to his enclosure in Edinburgh Zoo.

• Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Jean Claude Mas, the founder of PIP, the French firm responsible for the breast implant scare affecting thousands of women across the globe.
• For obvious reasons austerity, crisis, credit rating and bondholders were among the words that most annoyed TheJournal.ie readers over the past 12 months. Totes, amazeballs, totally, super and dotcom also irritated you (also for obvious reasons). See the rest of the exhaustive list here.
• What with a general election, a presidential campaign, the implosion of two long-standing parties and a eurozone crisis, 2011 held a lifetime worth of politics. We’ve tried to cram all that into one mega slideshow.
• Thinking about getting on the property ladder? Why not check out this nice detached house which comes with its very own nuclear missile silo?
• Weather forecasts have predicted that we are in for one of our warmest Christmas Days ever with temperatures reaching as high as 13 degrees Celsius. So put away those thermals.
• Did you make the cut for our top readers’ comments of the week roundup?
• (Not) Cardinal Sean Brady tells the full unedited tale of the Three Wise Men in his special Christmas column.
• Finally, as an early present we’ve unearthed this video to wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas. You are welcome!

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