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

IRELAND

• The brother of a young man who died following a neknomination has called the drinking game “stupid” and warned against it.
• The Supreme court has been told that a decision that the genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate was the legal mother was “radically wrong”. [RTÉ]
• The Department of Social Protection has investigated office smells - at a cost of €4,000.
• Minister Michael Noonan has said that funding for the flooding clear-up might be made available from central government funds.
• A Donegal garda was found guilty of harassing two female colleagues and sexually assaulting one of them. [RTÉ]
• There will be 50 new jobs in Cork thanks to call centre Zevas, and 40 at a pharmaceutical plant in Athlone.
• Neknominations will lead to more deaths, the Royal College of Physicians, a judge and the Taoiseach have said.
• Families of Stardust victims say they will release new pages from the review of evidence.
• Ireland should do more to punish corruption more quickly, the EU has said.
• Car sales were up by 33 per cent last month compared to January 2013.
• Ben Gilroy resigned as leader of Direct Democracy, to be replaced by Jaan Van de Ven.
• The Education Minister Ruairí Quinn has refused to rule out video cameras in classrooms of schools in Ireland.
• Ryanair has more passengers, but has experienced a €35 million loss.
• Two teen girls were arrested over a house fire in Limerick on Saturday, gardaí said.

WORLD

Phil Conran looks out of a window from his home, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, after a 30ft-deep sinkhole opened up in the driveway and swallowed his car. Pic: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

#LONDON Commuters face chaos as unions call a two-day tube strike, due to plans to cut jobs.

#MEXICO A castaway who claims to have set sail from Mexico a year ago has returned to dry land.

#ENGLAND A family got a shock when a sinkhole swallowed their car outside their house.

#FRANCE A man appeared in court for throwing a kitten into the air and filming the incident.

#USA The US abortion rate is at its lowest since 1973, with rates falling in almost all states.

#SOUTH AFRICA The details of who receives what from the late Nelson Mandela’s €3m estate have been revealed.

INNOVATION

• Facebook’s Paper is now available in the US, so it won’t be long before it’s here. [TechCrunch]
• Checking into hotels could be made all the easier thanks to QR codes.
• YouTube paid out over $1 billion to the music industry, it revealed today.

PARTING SHOT

(WorldStarHipHop Official/YouTube)

Ever wanted a Seinfeld reunion? Well, you got your wish last night. Sort of. [Quartz]