EVERY WEEKDAY evening, TheJournal.ie brings you the five things you should know by 5pm.

1. #RESIGNED: Labour TD Willie Penrose has resigned as Minister of State for Housing and Planning over the closure of Columb Barracks in Mullingar, which is in his constituency. In a statement released this afternoon, Penrose said: “While I will no longer hold the Labour whip, I will continue to serve the people of Longford Westmeath as an active and vocal public representative.” The government today confirmed it will close four provincial barracks.

2. #BONDHOLDERS: Finance Minister Michael Noonan has insisted that Fine Gael never promised to unilaterally burn senior bondholders ahead of this year’s general election. He indicated the party was supportive of such a move, but said it never promised it. Meanwhile, Enda Kenny is to travel to Germany tomorrow to meet with Chancellor Merkel to discuss Ireland’s economy and ongoing developments in the eurozone.

3. #BANDON: Two people are due in court to face charges arising from the death of 27-year-old Jonathan Duke whose remains were found in the River Bandon, Co Cork on Sunday night. It is not clear what charges they may face. Gardaí are treating Duke’s death as murder.

4. #SYRIA: Human rights groups are reporting today that up to 90 people have been killed in the past 24 hours in clashes between security forces and civilians, and soldiers and defectors. Over 30 soldiers were reportedly killed in an ambush by army defectors, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

5. #EH? Speculation has been growing online over the purpose of intriguing construction projects apparently underway in China’s Gobi desert. Some satellite images of the sites appear to show planes and burnt-out vehicles. Check the pictures out for yourself here.