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

IRELAND

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Luke O’Donnell (8) and CEO of the Irish Cancer Society Averil Power promoting Daffodil Day, which is happening on Friday Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• The Dáil approved the second stage of a Bill that will form the basis of the upcoming referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
• Sinn Féin TD Carol Nolan was suspended from the party after voting against the Eighth Amendment referendum legislation.
• Dublin Fire Brigade is responding to a fire at a building in Ballymun.
• A father accused of murdering his infant son could be found guilty of manslaughter if the jury does not believe he intended to kill or cause serious injury to the child, a court was told.
• Gardaí are investigating if a €500,000 invoice fraud carried out against Dublin Zoo was intended to benefit Islamic extremists in the UK.
• Pope Francis will celebrate mass in the Phoenix Park on Sunday, 26 August.
• A barrister for Stuart Olding denied that the Ireland and Ulster rugby player was part of a cover-up conspiracy in the aftermath of an alleged rape.
• The Policing Authority rejected suggestions that it breached the confidence of analysts working in An Garda Síochána who raised concerns about the internal review of homicide figures.
• There are four counties where the average rent exceeds €1,000 per month: Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
• Johnny Ronan’s plans to build a 22-storey building in Dublin city received a set-back.
• There will be major train disruptions over the Easter weekend.

WORLD

Children try to photograph a peacock at the Santa Fe Zoo in Medellin, Colombia AFP / Getty Images AFP / Getty Images / Getty Images

#UK: The pilot of a jet which crashed onto a dual carriageway in England in 2015, killing 11 men, is to be charged with manslaughter.

#TEXAS: The suspect in a series of bomb attacks in Austin over the past few weeks blew himself up as law enforcement officials closed in on him.

#US: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to the data mining controversy involving Cambridge Analytica, saying there has been a “breach of trust” between the social media platform and its users.

#RUSSIA: Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson agreed with a suggestion that Russian President Vladimir Putin would exploit hosting the 2018 football World Cup in the same way Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler did the Berlin Games.

#LONDON: TV presenter Ant McPartlin was charged with drink-driving.

PARTING SHOT

Some of the First Dates crew RTÉ RTÉ

First Dates Ireland is currently recruiting for the next series of the show. If you’re thinking of applying, take this quiz first (via DailyEdge).