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

IRELAND

Ireland's first driverless public transport vehicle on the streets of Dublin today Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

• Minister Eoghan Murphy has made an order appointing Friday 26 October as the polling day for the referendum on removing blasphemy from the Constitution.
• Transport Minister Shane Ross has defended himself for comments attributed to him from a local meeting in which he said that the BusConnects plan is not part of his job. 
• A review into Irish search and rescue operations has found “several sources of confusion” and potential conflicts of interest among the agencies who oversee them.
• Gardaí in Dublin are investigating after an early-morning collision between a car and a cyclist in North Strand.
• Ireland’s first community air ambulance, funded by a charity, has arrived in Kerry Airport this afternoon. 
• Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following an incident of shots being fired at a 40-year-old man who was out walking his dog in Cork last night.
• The first driverless public transport vehicle in Ireland is to take to the streets of Dublin today and for the weekend.
• A man has been fined €1,150 and restricted from keeping dogs for 18 months, after being convicted today of causing unnecessary cruelty to numerous animals. 

INTERNATIONAL

British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to speak in Downing Street in the aftermath of the Salzburg summit Jack Taylor Jack Taylor

#BREXIT: UK Prime Minister Theresa May has responded to EU leaders’ criticism of her Chequers plan, saying that ”I have treated the EU with nothing but respect – the UK expects the same”.

#NEW YORK: Three babies and two adults were slashed at a child care centre Friday in New York City, police said.

#TRUMP: US President Donald Trump has challenged the accuser of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for the first time today.

PARTING SHOT

Culture night 2018 is finally upon us, and that means hundreds of venues across Ireland will open their doors for free tonight.  

Sasko Lazarov Sasko Lazarov

The now annual event has become one of the most prominent activities on the cultural calendar, and this year is no exception. From throwing pottery, to pulling screen prints and zorbing on water there’s something for everyone. 

Here’s the low-down of the events that are happening across the country tonight.