EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the day’s main news stories, as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

• The Government is to sell off a minority stake in ESB. Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte told the Dáil today that a committee will be formed to make “complex, complicated and intricate” decisions on the sale, including the size of the stake to be sold. The union representing workers at the utility has already said it intends to ballot members on industrial action over the decision.
• It was the first day back in the Dáil today after the summer holidays and it was a busy one. As well as the announcement on ESB, the Chamber saw its first suspension of the session when Waterford TD John Halligan was asked to leave following a row with Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett.
• Meanwhile, TD and Dublin fan Aodhán Ó Ríordáin was told to remove sky-blue and navy flags from his car while it was parked at Leinster House. The Dublin North Central TD joked that he was “duly chastened” but said the flags will be straight back up to support his team ahead of this Sunday’s All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry.
• There are fears for up to 250 jobs at Dublin-based poker company Pocket Kings as cost-cutting measures are revealed by its parent company Full Tilt Poker.
• There was some good news on the economy front today though as the European Commission reduced the interest rate charged on some €22.5bn of Ireland’s bailout loans. The cut means the Commission is making zero gains on its loans to Ireland.
• Earlier today, Fergal McCarthy told TheJournal.ie that he needed no motivation to head out to his desert island…in the middle of the Liffey. During a Twestion Time session with us, the No Man’s Land performer said he had brought a trunk of books but so far he’s just been enjoying his surroundings, especially visits from a heron and a seal.
• Republicans in the US had a surprise victory today after party member Bob Turner won the congressional seat vacated by disgraced Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner in New York. Democrats had held the seat since the 1920s.
• A man in his twenties has been arrested in Kildare following a hit-and-run collision in Carbury on Tuesday night, in which a 61-year-old cyclist died.
• A mother of a seven-year-old boy has blamed her son’s narcolepsy on the swine flu vaccine he received just months before developing the disorder. In July, the European Medicines Agency said there was a link between the sleeping disorder and the Pandemrix vaccine when it is given to children and young adults.
• Mick Jagger has banned Keith Richards from attending the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary bash next year. The pair have been at war since Richards mocked Jagger’s manhood in his autobiography. He also called the frontman “unbearable”. Check them out in happier times in 1973:

• You can follow tonight’s Champions League action over on TheScore.ie‘s liveblog. It’s a busy night with eight games taking place across Europe.
• Some great news for Irish film today as three homegrown movies made the selection list for the European Film Awards. Two Irishmen – actor Michael Fassbender and cinematographer Robbie Ryan – also received awards at the Venice Film Festival.
• Topman got in some trouble as it was forced to pull two t-shirts from its stores after it was accused of comparing women to animals and glamourising domestic violence.
• The smart people at NASA have taken another giant leap forward in space exploration and have unveiled plans for a new super-size rocket that it hopes will eventually land American astronauts on Mars.

• Jean Byrne, Ireland’s popular weather forecaster, has won a European award for her style…her broadcasting style that is.
• In New York, police officers showed their, em, samba skills at a West Indian Day Parade yesterday. However, some people were not impressed that they also “bumped and grinded” while in uniform. We’re wondering if any members of the Garda Síochána might get into the cultural spirit of things next March and do their best Michaeal Flatley impression at Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade?

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