EACH WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you five news stories that you really should check out before 5pm.

1. #ASH CLOUD: German airports have reopened and Eurocontrol – Europe’s air traffic controllers – says that European airspace could return to normal tomorrow following disruptions caused by the Grimsvotn volcanic eruption in Iceland.

2. #BAILOUT: Taoiseach Enda Kenny insisted today in the Dáil that Ireland has no plans to reschedule its EU-IMF loan repayments. Kenny said that remarks from ministers such as Brendan Howlin, who was quoted as saying rescheduling “would be desirable”, had been misinterpreted and effectively suggested the country would default.

3. #RACE FOR THE ÁRAS: Former Fine Gael Taoiseach John Bruton will decide soon if he will seek the party’s nomination for the presidency, according to Environment Minister Phil Hogan. Other candidates who may also seek Fine Gael’s nomination are MEPs Mairéad McGuinness and Seán Kelly.

4. #NEW BOSS: French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has formally declared her candidacy for the IMF’s managing director post. The position became vacant when former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned after he was charged with sexually assaulting a woman at a New York hotel recently.

5. #HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Anglo Irish Bank has decided to mark the 20th anniversary of the Irish Museum of Modern Art by donating some 18 pieces of art worth around €160,000 to the museum.