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

IRELAND

Pictured are Eilis Burke (15), Tara Duggan (16) and Amy Hopkins (15) from Ursuline College Sligo with their project about the different senses which are stronger in people who are impaired in another sense at the BT Young Scientist 2018. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• An inquest into the death of a DCU lecturer heard she died due to carbon monoxide poisoning during a house fire in Limerick.
• The gambling industry in Ireland is to be overseen by an independent regulator under a proposed new law.
• A number of flights were diverted from Dublin Airport due to dense fog.
• Leo Varadkar said he didn’t want anyone to “face the indignity” of waiting for long periods on a hospital trolley.
• Varadkar also refused to give his views on the report of the Oireachtas abortion committee, which was published three weeks ago today.
• A giant blaze broke out in St Margaret’s metal recycling plant in north Dublin and was brought under control by emergency services.
• Irish Rail workers voted to reject a Labour Court recommendation concerning pay and productivity issues.
• Former Anglo-Irish bank chief executive David Drumm pleaded not guilty to the two charges he faces at a Dublin court.
• The latest Wellbeing of the Nation report from the CSO was released. The publication attempts to address the question of how people feel about their lives as a whole.
• Gardaí were investigating after the occupants of a car fled the scene of a crash on Pearse Street, Dublin, in the early hours of this morning.
• The Criminal Assets Bureau carried out a number of searches in Dublin this morning, seizing an assortment of items, including jewellery, cash and electronics.
• Today FM announced that the broadcaster Muireann O’Connell will begin hosting a new lunchtime show later this month.
• Tv3′s six remaining Blind Date episodes will not be aired in the first half of this year, and there are no indications they will ever see the light of day.

WORLD

A damaged car sits over fallen and debris behind downed power lines in Montecito, California. Dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged and several people were killed Tuesday, as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month. AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez / Marcio Jose Sanchez

#DOUGLAS: US film star Michael Douglas preemptively denied an allegation of sexual misconduct from three decades ago — before the publication of the claim.

#MYANMAR: Two Reuters journalists were formally charged by police in a Myanmar court with breaching a colonial-era secrecy law that carries up to 14 years in jail.

#CALIFORNIA: The death toll rose to 15 of people killed by mudslides in California.

PARTING SHOT

Cork City Council has decided to get rid of disposable single use cups in its offices – with staff being encouraged to use environmentally friendly reusable cups instead.

(If you can’t view the tweet, click here)