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

Pic: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

IRISH

• The Seanad has passed all stages of the abortion bill and it now goes to the President.
• Also today, the Seanad voted to hold a referendum on its abolition and a date has been set for the vote.
• The government will not be providing a redress scheme for survivors of the Bethany Home.
• Three men are reportedly being questioned in connection with the stabbing to death of a man in Clare earlier today.
• A pedestrian died after being hit by farming vehicle in Leitrim earlier today.
• Pressure continues to mount on junior minister John Perry after a court judgment against him yesterday, but he has some support.
• Property prices are now half the price they were in 2007 but have risen annually for the first time in five years.
• Michael Lowry was the subject of nearly 400 complaints to the political ethics watchdog last year.
• An independent senator has admitted she took a speech she made in the Seanad from a Sunday Times column.
• Ryanair has offered to sell its stake in Aer Lingus.
• Crumlin Children’s Hospital has been caught-up in a contamination scare.
• There have been more gorse fires on Howth Hill (above).
• Ireland is not a tax haven, the head of the OECD’s tax policy unit said today.
• A fire has broken-out at a chemical factory in Swords in north Dublin.
• The weather has taken a turn today with Galway experiencing some epic downpours and local flooding.
• The government will make between €60,000 – €100,000 in compensation available to women who were treated by Dr Michael Neary.

WORLD

Pic: John Stillwell/PA Wire

#ROYAL BABY: The world has been given first sight of the royal baby as the currently unnamed Prince of Cambridge was paraded outside a London hospital this evening.

#IRAQ: Al Qaeda has claimed it was behind the daring assault on two jails near Baghdad yesterday in which hundreds of militants escaped.

#MALAWI: A court has fined a Malawian man for calling the president Joyce Banda “stupid”.

INNOVATION

• With fewer iPads sold and people buying older versions of the iPhone, Apple’s earnings have fallen again.
• Meanwhile, Apple rival Samsung has unveiled a new smart phone and tablet processor that offers more than twice the 3D graphics power of its processor [BBC]

PARTING SHOT

This incredible picture taken nearly 900 million miles away from earth which shows us how insignificant we really are.

Here’s what happened yesterday…>