Here's What Happened Today: Friday

A potential Brexit deal, Extinction Rebellion protests, and Conor McGregor made the headlines today.

NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

REBELLION DAY 5 758A0788_90582350 Extinction Rebellion outside the Department of Communucations Climate Action and Environment this afternoon Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

DUP leader Arlene Foster told Boris Johnson that her party would be crucial to his hopes of passing a deal through the UK parliament, as speculation grows that the UK prime minister is preparing to make concessions to secure a Brexit deal.
Extinction Rebellion protesters pasted scientific papers on climate change onto the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment building in Dublin.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he does not want to restrict cars in rural Ireland, responding to criticism targeted at him over comments he made yesterday.
A case against MMA star Conor McGregor over an alleged assault on a man at a Dublin pub was adjourned until 1 November.
A Roscommon family whose farm was the centre of a controversial eviction last year were given a month to vacate their home.
A man who fired eight shots from a semi-automatic pistol during the robbery of a post office received a 12-year jail sentence.
Secondary school teachers voted for industrial action over two-tier pay.
Leinster House cancelled its participation in Open House Dublin this weekend due to the ongoing Extinction Rebellion protests.
Scouting Ireland announced the appointment of Anne Griffin as its new CEO.

INTERNATIONAL

belfast-comic-graffiti A tribute to the new Joker film on a wall on Stephen Street in Belfast Niall Carson / PA Wire Niall Carson / PA Wire / PA Wire

#DEAL OR NO DEAL: The EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier secured approval from the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states to return to intensive Brexit negotiations, according to diplomats.

#MANCHESTER: A man was arrested in the UK after four people were injured as part of a knife attack in the city centre this afternoon.

#NOBEL PRIZE: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

#LONDON: Met Police announced that they have arrested more than 1,000 people in connection with the ongoing Extinction Rebellion protests across the British capital this week.

PARTING SHOT

Juries are asked to decide if evidence is beyond reasonable doubt, but where do Brits set that line?

Cumulative % that would convict based on evidence that was X% certain
75%+ certain = 7%
90%+ 22%
95%+ 32%
99%+ 47%
99.9%+ 55%
99.99%+ 59%
99.9999999%+ 65%https://t.co/hfbuEkzAvH pic.twitter.com/FqNdU49Rjl
— YouGov (@YouGov) October 3, 2019

YouGov / Twitter

If you’ve ever been in court (or watched some court dramas), you’ll be familiar with the concept of having to prove something ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.

For the uninitiated, the phrase means that evidence in a criminal prosecution must prove that the defendant committed the crime, in such a way that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts in the case.

But while it might seem like a fairly simple concept, the idea brings up questions of what a ‘logical explanation’ and ‘reasonable doubt’ are to individual people.

To get to the bottom of it, British survey company YouGov carried out a poll asking how accurate a piece of evidence would have to be for respondents to consider it ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

The result? Just one in five would convict if a piece of evidence was 90% accurate, rising to one in three if it was 95% accurate. For a significant majority, evidence would have to be 99.999% accurate or more for it to be ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

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