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

[Photocall Ireland]

• Firefighters battled a huge blaze in Clondalkin (above)
• Over a thousand people attended the Reform Alliance conference
• Two opinion polls gave contrasting takes on the coalition’s performance
• Met Éireann issued an ‘orange alert‘ storm warning
• An investigation was launched after a man was found dead in Clare
• News emerged of a stabbing on a ship bound for Irish Waters
• Three men were charged over a gunpoint robbery in Cheekpoint
• NAMA said Mount Carmel patient deposits would be returned
• A garda whistleblower reiterated his call for an independent penalty points probe
• Lucinda Creighton said she didn’t approach Peader Tóibín about joining the Reform Alliance

WORLD

A protester throws a stone against riot police during a clash in central Kiev today [AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky]

#KIEV: Opposition leaders in Ukraine have been offered Government roles in a bid to end the ongoing crisis

#US Three people have been killed in a shooting at a mall in suburban Maryland

#FRANCE: President Francois Hollande has officially broken up with first ladyValerie Trierweiler

#SOUTH AFRICA: There are demands for an official probe into claims that funds for the Mandela memorial were misappropriated

INNOVATION

• Netflix have solved a ‘first world problem’ they themselves created, giving viewers an autoplay ‘opt out’ [Techradar]
• Why only six seconds? It ‘just feels right’ according to Vine’s co-creator [The Guardian]
• And — Life on Mars? Well, ten years after landing on the Red Planet, the rover ‘Opportunity’ is still looking…

PARTING SHOT

For no other reason than that it’s cold, dark and stormy outside — here’s a picture of a small dog enjoying the sunshine in Rio:

(Image: AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

According to AP: “Caique’s owners said they like to dress Caique up for dog parades and that they enjoy pedestrians taking his picture during his daily walks”.

We’re not entirely sure why this photo’s so amusingly compelling. Perhaps it’s just that, in spite of the stupid hat, this poor little fellow just has so much damn dignity.