The Daily Fix: Thursday

EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of the day’s biggest news stories, as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

• Four people were arrested and 140,000 litres of laundered fuel seized today in a cross-border operation involving gardaí, CAB, Customs officers and the PSNI. Coordinated searches were carried out in eight counties.
• The Garda Síochána could suffer significant staff shortages if all gardaí eligible for retirement by February 2012 decide to step down, according to documents seen by RTÉ which will feature in a Prime Time programme this evening. The retirements could see eight per cent of all garda stations without a permanent garda.
• Apple accidentally lost another iPhone prototype by leaving it in a bar in California. An iPhone 4 prototype was left in a different pub last year, before the phone had been released. The latest blunder apparently occurred in a San Francisco bar.
• The ESRI says the government should cut €400 million more from the next budget than it is currently planning amid warnings that the weakening US and UK economies could further undermine Ireland’s economic recovery. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said that Brenand Howlin’s criticism of government departmental overspending was simply “a shot across the bows”. Noonan also said there would be “no magic bullet” for mortgage debt relief.
• Take a 100-second trip through 100 years of sartorial history with the following video advertisement for a new London shopping centre:

• Giovanni Trappattoni has named his starting 11 for the Republic of Ireland’s game against Slovakia tomorrow. Stephen Ward and Shane Long will start, but Kevin Doyle and Kevin Kilbane will not.
• A man was seriously injured in a hit-and-run incident involving a stolen car yesterday in Dublin.
• A group which provides support services to young gay people in Ireland says that the results of a study showing that almost two-thirds of young gay men have experienced homophobic bullying are not surprising.
• An MMR vaccination programme is being unrolled across Dublin north inner city schools, following a recent measles outbreak. Over 140 cases of measles have been recorded in Ireland so far this year, with almost 50 cases confirmed in the Dublin north inner city area in August.
• World leaders and international organisations have been meeting today in Paris to discuss the issues facing Libya, following its six months of civil war. Two of Gaddafi’s sons are reportedly taking different positions on the future of their family’s regime, with one pledging continued resistance and another negotiating with the National Transitional Council. Meanwhile, an 11-year-old boy is understood to have died after being accidentally shot by celebratory gunfire in Tripoli.
• Australian authorities say they have located the remains of infamous outlaw Ned Kelly. Well, almost – the body is missing its head. DNA testing was used to identify the bones after they were found in a mass grave.
• Micheál Martin has criticised former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for labelling some grassroots members of Fianna Fáil “useless good-for-nothings”. Martin also struck out at the “blanket blame” of his party, following its drop in popularity. In TheJournal.ie‘s poll today, we asked, “Is Fianna Fáil entirely to blame for the situation the country finds itself in today?”, to which 43 per cent said ‘for the most part, but there were other factors’ and 40 per cent said ‘yes’.
• The Irish rugby squad arrived in New Zealand today ahead of the World Cup tournament. Here’s a slideshow of BOD and the boys meeting their welcoming committee.
• Fancy a trip to the cinema in the coming days? Check out three of the films opening in Irish cinemas this weekend with our Three Trailer Thursday.
• Is she or isn’t she… Earlier this week, singer Sinéad O’Connor said she would be appearing on The Late Late Show on Friday. Yesterday, she said she wasn’t going. Today, she tweeted: “Spoke with the gorgeous Ryan Tubridy. Am now definitely going on the show tomorrow and there’ll be plenty of gigle-ment.. Yay!!” O’Connor co-presented the Late Show on Classic Hits 4FM last night and showed her enthusiasm for Mr Tubridy: