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

IRELAND

Pictured are mediators Grace Darcy, right, from Clane, Kildare and Rachel Tovin from Kells, Meath interacting with the ‘Can you Predict Disaster?’ exhibit at the opening of IN CASE OF EMERGENCY at the Science Gallery. Mark Stedman Mark Stedman

• A man charged over a sexual assault in Dublin was refused bail.
• Police in Northern Ireland investigating a possible murder said that a woman’s body may have been in a Belfast flat for over two years.
• The CEO of INM Robert Pitt resigned suddenly.
• Two independent members of the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment announced they are “actively considering” pulling out, saying that they are ridiculed and “sneered at” when they speak at the panel.
• A man with autism who was accused of the attempted murder of his sister was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
• A couple who believe they are affected by the tracker mortgage scandal suffered a stroke and a nervous breakdown over the duration of their battle with Permanent TSB, an Oireachtas committee heard.
• Newly released Census figures showed that there are 3,729,115 Roman Catholics in Ireland, which makes up 78% of the population (down from 84% in the last census in 2011).
• The Oireachtas Eighth Amendment committee heard from GPs about crisis pregnancies.
• The High Court  cleared the way for Apple’s planned €850 million data centre at Athenry.

WORLD

A man wades through flood water in Ninh Binh province, northern Vietnam. Landslides and floods triggered by heavy rain over the past four days in Vietnam's northern and central regions have left 37 local people dead and 40 others missing Xinhua News Agency / PA Images Xinhua News Agency / PA Images / PA Images

#UNESCO: The US and Israel both announced they were leaving UNESCO, citing an anti-Israel bias.

#WEINSTEIN: Police in New York and London said they were looking into sexual assault allegations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein.

#PALESTINE: Rival Palestinian faction Hamas and Fatah have reached agreement on aspects of their bid to end a decade-long split.

PARTING SHOT

An English bus company has had the bright idea of introducing  “horseshoe seats” to try to encourage passengers to talk to each others.

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen in Dublin. (via DailyEdge)

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