EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a roundup of the day’s main news – as well as any bits and pieces you may have missed.

The race for the Áras is over:

Michael D Higgins is to become the ninth President of the Republic of Ireland, after securing more than one million votes. In his acceptance speech, Higgins thanked his wife Sabina Coyne – his “inspiration and partner” – and his children for their support, as well as the Irish electorate who had placed their faith in him.

Higgins (see our profile here) said that, as he had campaigned across Ireland, he had seen the “righteous anger” of many regular people trying to deal with the human cost of the country’s economic collapse – and vowed to help people embrace a “new version of Irishness” that would move away from the materialism of the boom years.

As the new President of Ireland, Higgins will be paid the reduced capped wage of just under €250,000 per annum – but for the size of our country, is that a good deal?

Don’t worry if you missed out on the day’s action, you can catch a blow-by-blow account on our Liveblog.

Meanwhile…

The referendum on judicial pay has just been passed by a majority of over one million votes – but almost 38,000 were spoiled.

The referendum on the Oireachtas inquiries has been defeated by a margin of 116,167 votes – and over 45,000 votes were spoiled.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has suggested in an interview at Dublin Castle that the ‘No’ vote for the Oireachtas Committee Constitutional amendment won’t be the end of it. Speaking at the Castle earlier today, Howlin said: “If it [the amendment] is defeated, we’re going to have to think again about how we’re to get our reform agenda back on track”.

And in other news…

• A woman has been arrested over the abduction of a 29-year-old man in East Wall in Dublin on 20 October; she is currently being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Store Street Garda station. Ciarán Noonan was assaulted and bundled into a car on Russell Avenue at 4.45pm on a Thursday afternoon – his whereabouts are still unknown.
• More than half of Irish employers think the annual Christmas party is too costly to justify and plan to scrap the festivities this year. Meanwhile, three-quarters say they have had to deal with complaints about drunken behaviour following a staff get-together.
• Former television presenter and host “Jim’ll Fix It” Jimmy Savile has passed away at his Leeds home, at the age of 84. The much-loved star would have celebrated his 85th birthday on Monday. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
• A blast in the Afghan capital has killed 13 NATO troops – all of them US soldiers – as well as four civilians. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.
• Seventeen people have been arrested over a terrorist attack on the US embassy in Sarajevo, in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A gunman, thought to be part of a conservative Islamic sect, opened fire outside the embassy in the capital yesterday; he and a policeman were injured.
• It’s been quite a week – with devastating rains hitting Dublin; celebrations across Libya following the death of Muammar Gaddafi; and festivities for Halloween starting across the world. Check back on the week that was, in photos…
• China has authorised new legislature to define and combat terrorism – which is closer in line to international practises – as violent outbreaks continue in the country’s western region.
• And finally, for those of you tardy about your pumpkin-carving (tut tut) here’s a little inspiration…

Video via allrecipes on YouTube