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

IRELAND

The National Broadband Plan contract is signed at St Kevin's National School in Co Wicklow Merrion Street Merrion Street

• The Government signed off on the €3 billion National Broadband Plan contract.
• The Taoiseach described comments by Fine Gael by-election candidate Verona Murphy about immigration as “wrong, misinformed and ill-advised”.
• A man in his 70s was killed after the car he was driving struck a ditch in Co Cork.
• Another man, aged 29, was killed following a collision on Dublin’s M50.
• Two gardaí were hospitalised after sustaining injuries when their patrol car was rammed during a pursuit in Limerick.
• Three men were arrested following an attempted ATM theft in Ballynahinch, Co Down yesterday.
• A man launched High Court proceedings against the Department of Social Protection after his data was given to private investigator.
• A new report found that the number of Irish teenagers reporting severe anxiety has doubled since 2012.
• Dublin City Council launched legal proceedings against a man for feeding wild pigeons at his home in Stoneybatter in Dublin.
• RTÉ sold off a Louis le Brocquy painting for €102,000 at an auction in London.
• Táinaiste Simon Coveney condemned Israel’s policy of building settlements in occupied Palestinian territory following a change in US foreign policy yesterday.

 INTERNATIONAL

Prince Charles is formally welcomed to New Zealand in Auckland Victoria Jones / PA Images Victoria Jones / PA Images / PA Images

#WIKILEAKS Sweden formally discontinued an alleged rape investigation involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is now jailed in Britain.

#USA Two prison guards responsible for monitoring Jeffrey Epstein’s cell on the night he died by suicide were arrested and charged in connection with his death.

#PRINCE ANDREW Members of University of Huddersfield’s Students’ Union passed a motion to lobby Prince Andrew to resign as the university’s chancellor.

#IMPEACHMENT PROBE A national security aide who listened to Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president described it as “improper” on the latest day of impeachment proceedings against the US President.

PARTING SHOT

The first debate in the UK general election is taking place this evening, and truth be told, it’s been fairly uninspiring stuff so far.

In fact, the biggest talking point about the debate has been the activity of the Conservative Party online:

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That’s right: the Conservative Party’s press office has rebranded to a fake fact-checking channel to ‘debunk’ claims made by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during the debate.

Cynical or what?

Comments have been closed as legal proceedings are active in one of the above stories.

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