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

IRELAND

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pictured at Castleknock Community College in Dublin 15 earlier today. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• A man accused of murdering his partner’s mother told gardaí he “took the rap” for killing and dismembering Patricia O’Connor but felt he was being set-up, the Central Criminal Court heard.
• A teenager was arrested in relation to the murder of Cameron Blair in Cork.
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed the transitional pensions Fine Gael are offering to bridge the gap between retirement age and the pension age won’t apply to 65-year-olds.
• Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin ruled out entering into a grand coalition with Fine Gael after the general election.
• Former footballer Niall Quinn was appointed the FAI’s Interim Deputy CEO.
• A report on a Dublin centre for people with disabilities found some residents were not protected from abuse, with one person experiencing 89 abusive incidents.
• Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty looks set to top the poll in the Donegal constituency in next month’s general election, according to a new opinion poll.
• A comedy event to support injured Liverpool fan Seán Cox raised €465,000 for his rehabilitation trust.

WORLD

Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her father Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (who is in prison in Iran), and his mother Barbara, outside Downing Street after a meeting with Boris Johnson today. Kirsty O'Connor / PA Wire/PA Images Kirsty O'Connor / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

#BRITAIN: Queen Elizabeth II gave royal assent to the legislation for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, paving the way for the UK to leave the EU with an agreement at the end of January.

#SCOTLAND: Four people are undergoing tests in a Scottish hospital for fear they might have contracted the coronavirus which is sweeping through China.

#US: Actor Annabella Sciorra told a trial how Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped her in the 1990s.

#AUSTRALIA: A water plane fighting wildfires in Australia crashed, killing three American crew members.

PARTING SHOT

A ball girl was on the receiving end of a Rafael Nadal shot at the Australian Open – luckily she was fine.

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