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

File photo of Junior Minister Alex White, who today called on the Minister for Justice to correct remarks made about a garda whistleblower. (Image Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire/Press Association Images)

IRELAND

• It was revealed that there is no written record of the Taoiseach asking officials for documents relating to rationale behind the bank guarantee.
• Junior Minister Alex White called on Minister for Justice Alan Shatter to correct remarks made about garda whisteblower Maurice McCabe.
• A 74-year-old woman died after being struck by her own car outside a supermarket in Ennis.
• The Constitutional Convention held its final meeting, and voted to strengthen economic, social, and cultural rights.
• The Irish Patients Association said that the “trust of the community” will be needed if Dublin emergency department closures go ahead.
• The Irish Language Commissioner formally stepped down.
• Communicorp is expected to rename Phantom 105.2 following a large number of job cuts last week.
• Figures showed that government expenditure on Jobseeker payments is expected to fall by as much as 20 per cent this year.
• Students travelled as far as Singapore on no budget as part of TCD’s annual Jailbreak charity challenge.

INTERNATIONAL

Athletes arriving during the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Fisht Olympic Stadium. (Image Credit: David Davies/PA Wire/Press Association Images)

#RUSSIA The Winter Olympics drew to a close.

#UKRAINE: The county’s interim leader has warned that the county’s economy is in a “catastrophic” state. Police were absent from the streets in central Kiev for a second day.

#THAILAND: Two died in a grenade attack in Bangkok’s main shopping district. It follows dozens being injured in violence at a anti-government protest yesterday.

#SPAIN: Three international monitors have given evidence about their meeting with militants from the Basque separatist group ETA after a video emerged apparently showing the group surrendering military equipment to authorities.

INNOVATION

• WhatsApp said sorry for last night’s downtime, just days after Facebook’s purchase of the company. [TheJournal.ie]
• Samsung unveiled two new smartwatches. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will both run on the Tizen operating system. [TNW]

PARTING SHOT

Remember the Olympic ring malfunction at the start of the Winter Olympics? It happened again… although this time it was deliberate. Promise. [TheScore.ie]

Here’s what happened yesterday >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More