Image: Photo: Stephen Kilkenny

EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of the day’s main news as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

• The funeral of former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald took place today at the Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook in Dublin this afternoon. People from across the country came to pay their respects along with FitzGerald’s family and friends, including the President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Former Taoisigh including Brian Cowen, Bertie Ahern, John Bruton, Albert Reynolds, and Liam Cosgrave were also in attendance.
• It is reported today that senior political figures are not ruling out the possibility of reducing Ireland’s corporation tax rate - to as low as 7.5 per cent – due to the failure of securing a cut on the average interest rate on the EU/IMF bailout.
• A man has been arrested at Cork Airport after attacking a garda, hijacking a vehicle and going on a dangerous rampage.
• The Master of the High Court has suggested that Anglo was aware of the solvency issues it faced from as early as 2004.
• Three young men have lost their lives on the country’s roads in separate crashes across the country today. A 20-year-old man was killed in Leitrim, and another male occupant seriously injured, at around 2.10am this morning; meanwhile, a 19-year-old pedestrian was killed in Derry at about 4am this morning and a 22-year old lost his life in Antrim following a crash at about 5.30am.
• Under new proposals, political parties may face cuts of 50 per cent to subsidies currently offered by the state if gender quotas for national elections are not met.
• After eight years of armed conflict that deeply divided opinion across the world, the last of Britain’s forces in Iraq have left the country today.
• Tens of thousands of people protesting against Spain’s soaring unemployment rate have defied a ban on political protests ahead of the country’s regional elections, which are taking place today.
• Iceland has closed its main airport, Keflavik, with no flights taking off or landing as the ash plume covers the country – however officials insist the disruption will not spread to Europe.
• The EU has established formal diplomatic contact with the Libyan rebels seeking to topple Muammar Gaddafi by opening an office in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
• Six people have been killed in Afghanistan after four men armed with assault rifles and wearing explosives drove into a compound that houses a government department the edge of Khost city, shortly before dawn, and began firing.
• There are fears that civil war in Sudan could be reignited following the seizure of a contested region: the occupation of the border town of Abyei by Northern forces has raised fears of sparking conflict just months after the South voted to secede from the North in a referendum following two decades of war.
• Here’s something you might not have known about… U2 frontman Bono has insisted that he played a “key role” in convincing Google to choose Ireland for its international headquarters.
• According to organisers, about 100,000 people turned out to watch the 100th Red Bull Flugtag held at Dun Laoghaire Pier this afternoon. We have a slideshow of some of the entries for your viewing pleasure: