EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a roundup of the day’s main news – plus any bits and pieces you may have missed…
- A senior economist at one of the world’s biggest banks says Ireland should negotiate a standby second bailout, in case it cannot return to the open bond markets when the first deal runs out. Willem Buiter of Citigroup also thinks the EU should let Ireland cut the interest rate on its promissory notes.
- Gardaí in Waterford are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of an 83-year-old woman at a Co Waterford nursing home earlier today. A 46-year-old man has been arrested and is being questioned at Waterford Garda Station.
- Priests in the Catholic diocese of Cashel and Emly have been asked to contribute between €50 and €60 per month to a diocesan fund which pays for the costs of child protection there.
- More not-so-good news: the cost of getting an NCT for your car is to rise by 10 per cent next month.
- A teachers’ union has played down reports that the Revenue Commissioners have launched a probe into teachers’ income for giving grinds.
- Labour TD Michael McCarthy says university overspending has reached a ‘worrying’ level – after it emerged that colleges spent over €377,000 on taxis during 2011.
- Trim in Co Meath is Ireland’s cleanest town, according to a new nationwide survey, while areas of Cork and Dublin are among the country’s dirtiest.
- A Polish military prosecutor has shot himself during a break in a press conference at which he denied army collusion in covering up the death of the former president Lech Kaczynski. Somehow, Mikolaj Przybyl survived his injuries.
- Netflix has launched in Ireland, offering unlimited viewing of its online film and TV database for €6.99 per month. We’ve been having a look at how it compares with alternative offerings.
- Police in the UK have sneaked a ‘fake bomb’ into London’s Olympic Park, just 200 days before the games get underway. The news overshadowed a meeting of David Cameron’s cabinet at the park today.

Water, water everywhere… and plenty a drop to drink, but not at the prices we’re used to. Junior health minister Roisin Shortall says the government is looking at a minimum price for alcohol. (Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)
- Irish consumer sentiment took its biggest battering in over ten years in December, new data says.
- Have you ever been paid to borrow money? That’s because you’re not the German government.
- A study has found that a simple non-invasive blood test could be used to identify the sex of a foetus in the early stages of pregnancy.
- Police searching for missing Tipperary man Christopher Cronin have recovered a body from te River Suir in Clonmel today.
- 16 people have been killed in two car bombs in Baghdad this evening.
- A Russian toddler has been found dead today, a day after falling into an ‘urban sinkhole’ which opened up beneath him yesterday.
- Do you live in the north-east of the country? You might want to get hunting for a meteorite – because Astronomy Ireland thinks a meteor which fell to the Irish Sea last week left some rare souvenirs to pick up.
- Antony Worrall Thompson has apologised after reportedly trying to take wine and cheese from Tesco without paying.
- Sure, we’ve had our ‘Deputy Stagg’ moments, but business in Leinster House doesn’t usually get as heated as this.
- Has Limerick been wiped off the face of Earth? Eh, no.
- “This is the voice! Of Ireland! Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, this is the voice! Of Ireland!” If that’s bringing back bad memories for you, you’re not the only one – RTÉ’s new talent contest The Voice of Ireland picked up over 700,000 viewers last night, despite its naff theme song.
- Soccer fans will be in no way surprised to learn that Lionel Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the third year running.
- Have you ever lent your vocal talents to a recorded song? How old were you when you did? Bet you weren’t as young as Blue Ivy Carter – who has contributed vocals to daddy Jay-Z’s new tune, at just two days old.
- Finally this evening – we know this isn’t a sports round-up but this goal is worth sharing. It’s been officially named the best goal of 2011 by FIFA – it’s Brazilian wunderkind Neymar at his oddly-coiffured best, for Santos versus Flamengo.









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