EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #POLITICAL CRISIS: Speculation about whether we will have an election before Christmas continued, as Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin prepare to continue talks into the weekend.

2. #HOMELESS: Dublin Region Homeless Executive has carried out more than 200 inspections of hotels and B&Bs used as homeless accommodation in the last year.

3. #ABUSE: A court has heard that a man punched partner in the face and daubed house with “abusive graffiti”.

4. #SINN FÉIN: More than 20% of voters would be more likely to vote for Sinn Féin under a new leader, according to poll carried out this week.

5. #EGYPT: The Egyptian president has vowed to “respond with brutal force” to yesterday’s horrific mosque attack.

6. #TRUMP: President Donald Trump has that Time magazine was considering naming him Person of the Year for a second year in a row but that he remove himself from the running.

7. #PROSTITUTION:  Incidents of sexual offences in Ireland have dropped off dramatically in recent years.

8. #GEORGIA: A fire at a hotel in Georgia’s Black Sea resort has killed 11 people, according to the BBC.

9. #OXFORD CIRCUS: British Transport Police have said that the evacuation of Oxford Circus was caused by “an altercation” between two men.