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

IRELAND

President of the European Council Donald Tusk at Government Buildings with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today Sam Boal Sam Boal

• Cabinet has today agreed the wording of what will replace the Eighth Amendment in the event that a vote to repeal it is passed.
• The decision to challenge garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe’s credibility was “entirely justified”, the Disclosures Tribunal has heard.
• Donald Tusk has said that every EU leader is dedicated to protecting the peace process in Northern Ireland and avoiding a hard border with the Republic.
• Dublin City Council today said it is proposing that homeless families will no longer be prioritised on the social housing waiting list.
• An Ireland rugby player said today at the rugby rape trial that he was “embarrassed” about messages he posted in a WhatsApp group.
• A new Northern Ireland budget will include £410 million following the financial package negotiated by the DUP with the Conservative Party.
• Baby Joshua, whose father is on trial accused of his murder, had paper that matched two different tissue boxes in his throat when he died, a court has heard.
• Former Irish president Mary McAleese has hit out at the Catholic Church, calling it an “empire of misogyny”.

WORLD

Thousands protest in Sol Square in Madrid, Spain today during an International Women's Day march Francisco Seco Francisco Seco

#SPAIN: Spain marked International Women’s Day today with an unprecedented strike in defence of their rights.

#OSCARS: The man accused of stealing Frances McDormand’s Academy Award has been released from custody.

#MURDER: Danish investor Peter Madsen has denied murdering Swedish journalist Kim Wall aboard his self-built submarine.

PARTING SHOT

Users of Amazon’s smart speakers with Alexa assistance software have comically expressed their fears in recent weeks, claiming that the software had been laughing menacingly for no apparent reason.

Amazon told AFP it looked into what was going on and found that sometimes Alexa mistakenly registers the phrase “Alexa laugh” and obeys.