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

• Seven people have been confirmed dead so far following an explosion in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, this afternoon. Officials says that there are an unknown number of people trapped under the rubble at the site of the blast.

Meanwhile, one person has been arrested in connection with a shooting spree on the Norwegian island of Utøya, about 80 kms from Oslo, where a Labour youth summer camp was being held. There are reports of several injuries on Utøya and unconfirmed reports of fatalities.

More on Norway:

- One arrested on Norwegian island following shootings >

- ‘No confirmation’ of terrorist motive: Norwegian PM >
- LIVE: Rolling coverage of Oslo explosion from state broadcaster NRK>

- Watch: First videos of explosion aftermath in Oslo>

- In pictures: Explosion hits Oslo>

- How news of the Oslo bombings unfolded on Twitter>

• The Dáil will meet more often and sit earlier in the day when it resumes after the summer recess, after TDs yesterday voted through the most significant package of Dáil reforms in decades.
• Gardaí are appealing for information on the whereabouts of  missing 15-year-old Dublin girl, who was last seen almost a week ago. Gugu Sibeko, from Mulhuddart in Dublin 15, is described by gardaí as a black South African girl with black hair, brown eyes, of medium build and 5 foot 5 inches in height.
• AIB has informed the Gardaí of a possible fraud involving the theft of up to €5m from customer accounts taken from a former employee of Anglo Irish Bank. It is understood that the money may have been taken in small amounts from a number of customer accounts by a former senior executive at Anglo.
• A man who is accused of throwing a homeless man’s pet rabbit into the Liffey did not show at his court case yesterday. Gary Kearney, 19, of Conyngham Road, Dublin was facing charges of animal cruelty and torture and a breach of the peace at Dublin District Court, incident in which homeless man John Byrne’s rabbit Barney was thrown in the river.
• The UN has warned that nearly 800,000 children in Somalia are at risk of imminent death if urgent assistance does not reach the country. Tens of thousands of people are already believed to have have died in Somalia’s famine, which has prompted Somalis to walk for days in hopes of reaching a refugee camp in neighboring Kenya.
• North and South Korea have agreed that anti-nuclear talks involving world powers should begin as quickly as can be arranged.
• Col Muammar Gaddafi has said that he won’t attend talks with rebels as he holds onto power amid efforts to end the conflict in the country.
• The world’s “greatest realist painter” Lucian Freud has passed away at the age of 88 – Freud was famous for his nude portraits of the likes of Kate Moss and his non-nude portrait of the Queen.
• Vikings… they were flame-haired men in horned hats with anger-management issues, right? Well it turns out that it wasn’t just men that took part in the plundering, pillaging and settlement building during the Viking explorations  – women may have been involved too…

This may be the best ever way to take your own photograph… (if a little time consuming):

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More