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

• Older people in Ireland are being reduced to ‘siege of Leningrad’-type solutions to keep warm during winter, according to the St Vincent de Paul. The society say they have spoken to older people who routinely go to bed for a few hours in the middle of the day to warm themselves; it also warned that loneliness was the biggest individual problem faced by older people living alone.
• In a statement released today, the Irish Government sticks to its view that the Vatican did not fully co-operate with the inquiry into allegations of abuse at Cloyne despite response by the Holy See.
• “Pride at home, respect abroad” – the five little words that are going to get someone in a whole lot of trouble, after both Mary Davis and Gay Mitchell adopted that exact slogan in their race for the Áras.
• Ireland’s first ever “SlutWalk” will be held next month in Galway. Similar marches have been held across the globe this year to call for a change in attitude towards rape victims.
• Presenting… the ambulance on a bike: Ireland is soon to get its first (two) First Responder bicycle units to deliver medical aid quickly and efficiently.
• An new alarm to keep tired drivers awake is a potential lifesaver, says owner of Driver Fatigue Alarms in Ireland. The Road Safety Authority says that one in five crashes happen because the driver of the vehicle is overtired.
• The Emirates airline has announced it will begin a new daily direct service from Dublin to Dubai beginning in January.
• Today, the Palestinians have officially launched a campaign to join the United Nations as a full member state. In a letter addressed to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, the delegation urges Ban to add his “moral voice in support of the Palestinian people.”
• Google has announced that it has acquired Zagat, the global restaurant rater. One of the world’s most influential and trusted consumer reviews, Zagat was started by married couple Nina and Tim Zagat 32 years ago.
• Ten social entrepreneurs have been recognised by the Arthur Guinness Fund 2011 for their “business heads and social hearts” – and have been awarded with €650,00 investment from the fund.
• The cost of living in Ireland increased in the month of August by 0.2 per cent – though the annual rate of inflation fell significantly on the previous month, according to new data published by the Central Statistics Office.
• Police in China are struggling to identify 30 people with mental disabilities who had been enslaved and used as free labour at illegal brick factories in the country. The workers were freed on Sunday, and eight brick factory managers were arrested.
• A group of lawyers are pioneering a new kind of divorce, where the partners move past their anger and work together - Muriel Walls explains how it works.
• Cinema trip this weekend? TheJournal.ie brings you snippets from three new releases to help you decide where to put your money…
• Karaoke addict? Kerry needs YOU! Yes, that’s right… it’s the World Karaoke Championships 2011.

Can you image a world where buildings and machines self-assemble, replicate and repair themselves? Well, soon you won’t have to waste your time by ‘using your imagination’ – at least, that’s according to MIT researcher Skylar Tibbits. Check out his recent TED talk, where he asks: can we make things that make themselves?

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