Every afternoon, TheJournal.ie brings you the five news stories you should know about by 5pm.

1. #BUDGET11: It is expected that the Social Welfare Bill will pass through the Dail by a slim margin of ‘Ta’ votes. Debate has raged all day in the Dail over cuts to blind people, carers and people with disabilities while AIB bankers are being paid €40m worth of bonuses deferred from 2008.

2. #DOWNGRADED: Ireland’s credit rating is slashed by three grades to BBB+ by London ratings agency Fitch. They blame the costs associated with our State shoring up the ailing banking system and the highly uncertain economic outlook.

3. #WIKILEAKS: Supporters of WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange have launched a cyber war against corporate giants who suspended business with WikiLeaks. Oh, and they’ve had a pop at Sarah Palin too.

4. #TASTE DEFICIT: A pair of cufflinks once worn by Bertie Ahern have fetched €850 at a charity auction.

5. #FACEBOOK: Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, has joined the group of billionaires known as the ‘Giving Pledge’ and vowed to give away most of his billions to charity.