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

The scene at the Holy Trinity Church in Avoca, Co Wicklow today as Marie Fleming was laid to rest. Pic: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

IRELAND

• Right-to-die advocate Marie Fleming has been laid to rest in Co Wicklow this afternoon.
• AIB has said that its debit cards are now working in non-AIB ATMs again after three days of problems.
• The State’s political standards watchdog, SIPO, does not have the staff to fulfil its duties.
• A man has died after a car he was a passenger in crashed into a lake early this morning.
• The parents of an autistic child were ‘gobsmacked’ after their seven-year-old son was pricked by a syringe on a DART last weekend.
• The weather is causing havoc with power supply and Christmas travel plans, but could we have a White Christmas?
• Gardaí have confiscated contraband DVDs and cigarettes at a market in Balbriggan.
• A former IRA man has been found dead at his home in Monaghan.
• It’s Christmas but that hasn’t stopped the political hostilities as Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil criticised the government over the HSE Service Plan.
• President Michael D Higgins has wished us all a Happy Christmas. Check out his message here.

WORLD

#SYRIA: At least 42 people have died after ‘TNT-packed barrels’ were dropped on a neighbourhood in the city of Aleppo.

#RUSSIA: Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has vowed to stay away from Russia and following his surprise release by Vladimir Putin on Friday.

#BRAZIL: A topless protest on a beach in Rio didn’t quite go as planned as just four women took part, but well over 100 photographers showed up.

#UNITED STATES: A mother-of-four who died from cancer two years ago got her Christmas wish for her husband and his new wife granted this week, and it’s a real Christmas tearjerker.

INNOVATION

• How Not to Use Twitter Part 3,576: A PR executive who tweeted about a trip to Africa and mocked AIDS victims has apologised.
• Google’s attempt to digitise every book ever written is both fascinating, scary and annoying to a lot of authors. Check out this sneak peak.

PARTING SHOT

We really hope that Rudolf pulls through and Santa isn’t reduced to this on Christmas Eve as these two impersonators made their way down the Liffey this morning.