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

John Gilligan leaving the Supreme Court in Dublin. File pic: Graham Hughes/Photocall Ireland

IRISH

• A Hardy Bucks star appeared in court accused of attacking three men at a pub. [BreakingNews.ie]
• DART passengers experienced packed trains due to a dispute between drivers and Irish Rail.
• GPs are split on the announcement of free GP care for under fives.
• A court has heard more allegations about a former solicitor, Thomas Byrne, accused of defrauding clients. [BreakingNews.ie]
• A man was arrested in connection with the murder of Kevin Kearney.
• Gardaí are searching for a 16-year-old who was reported missing and is believed to be in Dublin.
• A woman has described her abductor and rapist as “an evil man” in a victim impact statement. [The Irish Times]
• Work has finally begun on a new youth detention center at Oberstown - after a five-year delay.
• John Gilligan has lost his appeal in challenging the constitutionality of sentences he received for mobile phone use.
• A woman in her 40s died in a Wicklow house fire – two teenagers escaped the blaze.
• Ministers Brendan Howlin and Michael Noonan have said in video previews of Budget 2014 that it “will not be easy”.

INTERNATIONAL

Madeleine McCann’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann who are “greatly encouraged” by new information about the disappearance of their daughter. Pic: John Stillwell/PA Wire/File

#UK Police searching for Madeleine McCann have released an e-fit of a man seen carrying a blonde child towards a beach.

#UK The NHS has widened its Jimmy Savile investigations to ‘other hospitals’.

#SOMALIA A notorious Somali pirate, ‘Big Mouth’ was nabbed in an undercover operation.

#SYRIA Bashar al-Assad has said he should have won the Nobel Peace Prize – but he did so ‘jokingly‘.

#PERU The ‘Peru 2′, Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid, have been transferred to a new prison.

INNOVATION

• Scientists say they have discovered the deadliest substance known to man – but there’s an important reason why they’re not revealing what it is. [Gizmodo]
• XBox One is to add new social features, including community achievements and a Twitter-style feed. [The Guardian]

(xbox/YouTube)

PARTING SHOT

Why do humans and animals rely on social touch? This BBC Future article looks at just that, examining why grooming can win you favours and earn you social standing. [BBC]