EACH WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you need to know before you head out the door.

1. #EU PRESIDENCY: A deal on bank debt, stability, jobs, growth and trade agreements are top of the agenda for Ireland’s 2013 EU Presidency.  The Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, along with the Minister of State for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton, made the announcement today in Brussels.

2. #NORTHERN IRELAND: Around 21 protests are to be held in towns across the North at 6pm this evening in the latest demonstration of loyalist opposition to new rules on the flying of the Union flag. The demonstrations are likely to cause significant disruption to motorists and public transport during the evening rush.

3. #OIREACHTAS: Senior staff from Bank of Ireland, AIB and Permanent TSB will be grilled by TDs and Senators on Wednesday and Thursday about whether they are acting in the public interest after receiving State funds when they ran into extreme financial difficulties.

4. #KID KIM: Ri Sol-Ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, appeared on state television at a memorial service for her late father-in-law today looking heavily pregnant and fuelling expectations of an imminent addition to the ruling Kim dynasty.

5. #NEWTOWN DOGS: Ten golden retrievers were sent from a Lutheran organisation in Illinois to Newtown, Connecticut, where they will comfort the survivors and others affected by the recent massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “Dogs are non-judgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone,” said the organization’s president.