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

IRELAND

Taoiseach Simon Harris with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his visit to Farmleigh today RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• The Social Democrats has taken “a knock” with the controversy surrounding newly elected TD Eoin Hayes who the party suspended yesterday, according to the party’s deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan.
• A woman questioned by gardaí in relation to the case of Kyran Durnin has been released without charge.
• The nuber of  “non-complex” surgeries on children with scoliosis and spina bifida between 2022 and 2023 was almost 200 below target, despite improved funding for Children’s Health Ireland, an audit has found.
• A candidate in the general and local elections in Kerry has been jailed having been committed this week for contempt of court in relation to an alleged breach of a civil court order preventing her from making social media posts about a garda sergeant in Listowel.
• Simon Harris has said that Independents are “very serious” about wanting to be the third partner in a potential coalition with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. 
• Around 4,000 homes are still without power after Storm Darragh, with rural areas worst affected.
• An unsuccessful election candidate denied being threatening to a Garda sergeant following a rally in Dublin and claimed he was punched during his arrest and only had a knife purely to cut down posters.

INTERNATIONAL

Suspect in the murder case of an American CEO Luigi Nicholas Mangione is escorted into a courthouse in Philadelpia Alamy Alamy

#SYRIA The tomb of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez was torched in his hometown of Qardaha, footage from today shows.

#CEO MURDER The man charges with gunning down a top health insurance CEO in New York carried a handwritten manifesto of grievances against the industry, giving a possible motive for the first time, police have said.

#UK LAW Puberty blockers are now permanently banned in Northern Ireland after political parties on the government executive agreed to prevent their provision in the region.

PARTING SHOT 

RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

Pictured are the ‘Little Angels’ from the chilren’s choir of St. Josephs Nursery, Morning Star Road in Dublin 8.

They sang today at the official launch of the Live Animal Crib at the Mansion House for Christmas.