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

Candy Rose Brady doesn’t mind the wind as she walks in Dublin today. She was rescued by her owner Niall in 2007. (@niallmbrady/Twitter)

IRELAND

• The weather was sh*te again. (This is not déjà vu, it was just sh*te again).
• We took a look back at 1983 through the release of State Papers. The big topics were the phone tapping scandal, the abortion referendum and visits by Margaret Thatcher and Robert Mugabe.
• Loads of people went to see a massive whale that had washed up on Achill beach.
• Firefighters closed two roads in Dublin because the first ‘e’ from a Heineken ad almost blew off a building.
• A man is to be charged with the fatal stabbing of David Spain in Shankill.
• An Irish skier died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.
• We’re giving €2 million to the Central African Republic.
• A man is in hospital in Tipperary after being stabbed.
• A pedestrian was seriously injured when he was struck by a car in Cork.
• Gerry Adams believes an agreement can be reached when Richard Haass returns to Northern Ireland tomorrow.
• The Taoiseach admitted Ireland may miss his deadline on negotiating a deal to retroactively recapitalise the banks.

WORLD

A racegoer shelters from the wind and rain during the 2013 William Hill Yorkshire Winter Festival, at Wetherby Racecourse. (Image: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire/Press Association Images)

#BRITAIN: The UK also felt the effects of a major storm this week and the cleanup from earlier flooding continued today. The Prime Minister was accosted by an angry Kent citizen today who claimed the council “have gone off on their holidays”.

#SOUTH SUDAN: Irish charity goal has evacuated staff from South Sudan as the country rapidly descends into civil war.

#IRAQ: The man who oversaw Saddam Hussein’s hanging said he did not see any fear in the dictator’s face ahead of his execution. He also recalled seeing George Bush give a thumbs up signal when the Iraqi prime minister first suggested they kill him.

#SPAIN: A 35-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after she threw a newborn baby out a window on Christmas Eve.

#ARGENTINA: A teenage rape victim has been granted permission to terminate her pregnancy by a court which overruled a judge’s earlier decision to deny an abortion.

INNOVATION

• Have you been playing QuizUp this Christmas? (If not, you should. It’s fun, interactive and addictive – all the ingredients for a great app). Anyway, the company behind it has just raised $22 million in a round of financing. [TechCrunch]
• Speaking of wholesome fun, did you know you can now play vintage console games from the ’70s and ’80s on the Internet now? [Console Living Room]

PARTING SHOT

Actress, singer and winner of Hells Kitchen Jennifer Ellison celebrates the centenary of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise with male chefs at the Hempel Hotel in 2005. (Image: Ian West/PA Archive/Press Association Images)

“Mayonnaise … is ketchup’s dark twin—loved by some, reviled by others, setting brother against brother wherever it is spread.” – Gabriel Roth, 2003.

Did you add the white stuff to your leftover sandwiches today? If so (or, if you are a hater), you may find this ‘Brief History of Mayonnaise‘ as fascinating as we did. [Slate]