Wednesday lunchtime briefing: Minister apologises to 'Grace'. Catch up on the headlines

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

IRELAND

The Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath has apologised to the woman at the centre of a report into allegations of abuse at a foster home.

People will be able to travel freely between the UK and Ireland after Brexit, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has signalled.

A man has died after being hit by a car in Co. Tipperary last night.

A man is in a serious condition in Saint James' Hospital this morning after a shooting in Dublin.

WORLD 

Thousands of South Africans have called for the resignation of president Jacob Zuma in a series of demonstrations.

The Moscow office of human rights group Amnesty International has been sealed up overnight by Russian authorities.

A 75-year-old motorist tried to thwart knife-wielding car-jackers in England by refusing to hand over the keys to his vehicle.

According to a report from Waitrose in the UK, these food products have been at the forefront of our healthy eating agenda for the past year.

SPORT

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill took the opportunity to take a dig at Everton manager Ronald Koeman today while discussing James McCarthy.

Joe Schmidt isn’t the only one looking forward to seeing his charges face the best side in the world twice over the next few weeks.

Liverpool have announced that striker Danny Ings will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury.

The new British & Irish Lions kit was revealed in spectacular fashion as a giant ‘untouchable’ jersey hologram appeared over London

OPINION

With shocks this year regarding Brexit and a Colombian peace deal, nothing is assured, though we have an idea of what’s next after the presidential race.

Moscow has long used its fuel reserves to leverage foreign policy gains, but the US’s fracking and shale-gas boom and the growing, global LNG trade have changed all that.

BUSINESS

A major Irish manufacturing survey has provided further evidence of the huge hit facing Irish exporters from the slump in the value of sterling against the euro, and raised a significant warning about a potential further fallout from the US elections next week.

Sterling has slumped from 70p to the euro a year ago to 89p now.

LIFESTYLE

Andrea Mara encourages her children to think of less well off children — victims of war and enduring poverty — by getting them involved in donating toys and other gifts in the Team Hope Shoebox Appeal

SHOWBIZ

[imgcap=]http://www.irishexaminer.com/remote/snappa.static.pressassociation.io/assets/2016/07/27105829/1469613507-75900c3d9aa1ec8e42bb5bc06c9a8e09-1038x576.jpg?width=600[/imgcap]

Hollywood star Michael Fassbender has ruled himself out of becoming the next James Bond – suggesting a woman should play 007.

VIRAL

Vera Twomey today began to walk from her home in Cork to Dublin to protest at the Dáil. She has been petitioning the Government to grant permission for her daughter to use medicinal marijuana.

VIDEO - OUR CHOICE

The Buttevant road works are finished and the main Cork to Limerick road is running smoothly again.

TECHNOW

GAMING: Resident Evil 7 is looking like a return to the survival horror which the series has moved away from in increasingly action packed entries in recent years.

MOVIES/TV: Leonardo DiCaprio isn't just an Oscar winning (finally!) actor, he's also a passionate spokeperson against the global issue of climate change.

TECH: The Apple iPhone 7 is a highly coveted item, and that means some people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get one.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

Joe Schmidt isn’t the only one looking forward to seeing his charges face the best side in the world twice over the next few weeks.