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

IRELAND

A number of girls from Santa Sabina Dominican College attend the Countess Markievicz Conference Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie Sam Boal / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

• The HSE apologised to the family of Natasha Perie, a pregnant woman who was kept on life support against the wishes of her family because of concerns about the Eighth Amendment in 2014.
• Ross Hutch was jailed for two-and-a-half years after robbing a pharmacy with a bike saddle in April.
• Five people were arrested following raids targeting people suspected of assaulting sex workers.
• A grandmother went on hunger strike to protest against the country’s climate change policies.
• Maria Bailey complained to constituency members about the Taoiseach’s decision to take her off the general election ticket in Dun Laoghaire.
• A couple accused of carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) on their daughter at their home in Dublin in 2016 claimed she sustained her injuries after falling on a toy.
• Cycling activists told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that women are being put off cycling as a result of increasing hostility towards those who use bikes.
• It emerged that hundreds of State contracts have been procured by the public service outside official guidelines in recent years.
• The new Governor of the Irish Central Bank said that any form of Brexit would be bad for Ireland.
• The Irish Council for Civil Liberties warned that making the Public Services Card a requirement to avail of a new childcare payment was “illegal” and “highly discriminatory”.

INTERNATIONAL

Gordon Sondland, testifies before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

#U-TURN Prince Andrew announced he would step back from public duties because his former association with Jeffrey Epstein had “become a major disruption” to his family’s work.

#IMPEACHMENT PROBE The US Ambassador to the European Union told congressional impeachment investigators that he worked with Ukraine at the “express direction” of Donald Trump.

#TURBULENT TIMES A Spanish court ordered Ryanair to refund a customer who was charged for taking a carry-on bag without a special ticket, and told the airline to remove the clause from its terms and conditions.

#DATA PROTECTION A UK activist was given permission to take the world’s first legal challenge over police use of facial recognition technology.

PARTING SHOT

It’s getting towards that time of the year. But despite colder nights and festive lights, one thing has to happen before the Christmas season officially begins here: the Late Late Toy Show.

It’s just over a week before the show airs and today, RTÉ launched their promo for the most-watched TV event of the year.

Have a look to get yourself in the mood ahead of time: