Every afternoon TheJournal.ie brings you 5 things you really need to know by 5pm.

1. # BONDS: The price of Irish bonds have reached all-time high today, rising above 6.1% for the first time ever.

At the time of writing, prices had peaked a 6.328%.

The news comes shortly after Barclays bank said the Irish government might need outside help in repaying its debts – raising fears that Ireland may need to apply for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A few hours later, the IMF came out to say it did not believe Ireland would need its assistance and praised the efforts of the government to prop up the banking system.

An IMF spokesperson said that the IMF did “not envision that IMF financing will be needed. With the most recent policy measures, the authorities continue their support of the banking system and help maintain financial stability.”

2. # POPE: Five people in the United Kingdom have been arrested under terrorism legislation for allegedly planning to harm Pope Benedict during his visit.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police says the five were arrested around 5.45am today at a business premises in London after a tip-off.

3. #DISSEDENTS: The head of M15 has warned of an increased threat of attack from dissident republicans in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Evans, MI5’s director general, said that Britain faces a growing threat of attack from dissident republicans and from Islamic militants. He warned that an increasing number of UK residents were being trained in Somalia by the Islamist group al-Shabaab, and that London’s 2012 Olympic games could be targeted.

4. # INQUEST: The death of  of Dwayne Foster was due to methadone intoxication, an inquest has heard.

24-year-old Foster was found unconscious in his cell at Coolock Garda Station in 2006, where he was being questioned in relation to the death of 22-year-old Donna Cleary.

The Dublin City Coroner concluded that garda brutality had not been a cause of death.

5. # WORK CAN WAIT: Colombian police have arrested a parrot for aiding a drug cartel.

One officer said that the parrot had been used as “some kind of watchbird”. It is reported that the parrot – named Lorenzo – repeatedly shouted: “Run, run you are going to get caught” when police moved to raid the premises.

Lorenzo is allegedly one of over 1,600 parrots trained to act as ‘watch birds’ by drug cartels in Colombia.