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

IRELAND

Pro-life activists hold hundreds of paper figures as they protest outside Leinster House this afternoon. Sam Boal via RollingNews.ie Sam Boal via RollingNews.ie

• Ireland’s main banks admitted that there were a further 13,600 people or cases affected by the tracker mortgage scandal
• The Eighth Amendment Committee launched its final report – here’s a run through of what’s in it
• RTÉ sacked TV sports producer Kieran Creaven, who pleaded guilty child sex offences in the UK
• A family of five were forced to leave their home a week before Christmas due to defective blocks used to build their home
• A convention on the status of women in Ireland will be set up to tackle gender inequality issues
• Letters, photographs and charity records from the Band Aid archive are going to go on exhibition at the National Library of Ireland.

WORLD

Members of the public watching people ice skating on an ice rink in front of the Tower of London. PA Images PA Images

#POLAND: The EU decided to launch unprecedented disciplinary proceedings over Poland’s judicial reforms, which Brussels says threaten the rule of law.

#UBER: The EU’s top court has ruled that Uber is an ordinary transport service and not just a ride-hailing app, meaning that countries can regulate it.

#TRUMP TAX: The US Senate narrowly approved a sweeping tax overhaul, putting President Donald Trump on the brink of his first major legislative triumph.

PARTING SHOT

“Like a toilet brush”, “the mangy one” and “baldy” aren’t the most festive of descriptors, but they’re what have been used to describe the city of Rome’s rather dilapidated Christmas tree.

Take a look at what locals had to say in this video from the Guardian.