Every afternoon, TheJournal.ie brings you 5 things you need to know by 5 o’clock.

1. #HEALTH SCARE: Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has denied that he is recovering from a stroke, following media reports that the 71-year-old suffered a mild stroke during an operation in Milan on 29 December.

In a statement, Trapattoni said that he had undergone a scheduled operation to clean the carotid artery in December: “Contrary to media speculation, I can confirm that I have not suffered a stroke,” he said, “I will be in Ireland on January 24 to announce my squad for the Carling Nations Cup match against Wales on February 8.”

2. # NORRIS FOR PRESIDENT: Senator David Norris has launched an online appeal for manpower and money in order to get nominated for the Presidency.

Norris said he believes he “owes” it to the “thousands of messages of support I am receiving from people all over the country” to seek the nomination.

Last March, the senator tweeted that he had put a €50 bet on himself at 33/1 to get into the Áras.

3. #DUNNE: Sean Dunne’s wife Gayle Killelea Dunne has begun legal proceedings against a lawyer who failed to return money she says she gave him for a real estate deal.

Killelea Dunne claims that she transferred $500,000 (€378,000) to New York lawyer Philip Teplen with the intention of using the money for real estate in Chicago, which she subsequently changed her mind about. She claims the money was not returned to her when she requested.

4. #IMPLANON: Women have been reporting becoming pregnant while using the contraceptive Implanon – a device that is meant to offer protection against pregnancy for three years.

Contraceptive implants are purported to be more than 99 per cent effective. However, Implanon manufacturer MSD said that no contraceptive was 100 per cent effective and that the success of the implant was “a correct and carefully performed subdermal insertion of the implant in accordance with the product instructions”.

Since the device was introduced to Ireland in 1999, the Irish Medicines Boards says it received 32 reports relating to unwanted pregnancies.

5. #SWEDEN: It just gets weirder and weirder… now birds are falling from the sky en masse in Sweden.

The incident comes just after hundreds of birds and fish were found dead in Arkansas and Louisiana, the reasons for which – despite several theories being put forward experts – are not yet clear.

As more stories about animals meeting their ends in large groups surface, and with no logical reasons having yet been put forward to explain the phenomenon, we are pretty sure Doomsday advocates will soon jump to all kinds of conclusions.  So, please be prepared for hysterical people elbowing their way to the tinned goods section of your local supermarket tonight. You have been warned.