BULLETIN: Luas website taken offline after hacker demands a Bitcoin; Billy Connolly says he is 'slipping away'

Here's your lunchtime bulletin.

GET INFORMED ...

IRELAND: An Irish cybersecurity firm has said that the ransom demand on the Luas website is likely to be "the first of many in 2019".

IRELAND: 364 people are on trolleys in hospitals around the country this morning. Sinn Féin has said the trolley crisis in our hospitals will only get worse this year.

IRELAND: The former head of the Housing Agency is warning the Government to remain financially prudent and not to “give in” to the building sector.

WORLD: A closed-door meeting between US president Donald Trump and congressional leaders has led to no further progress over the partial government shutdown.

WORLD: Two more bodies have been found in the wreckage of a train crash on a Danish bridge, raising the death toll to eight in the country’s deadliest rail accident in 30 years.

VIEWS: We are one of the only EU countries in which greenhouse gases are rising and we are likely to miss our 2020 targets.

BUSINESS: More than 200 jobs are being created by a Danish home retail brand. JYSK will open 15 stores across the country.

SPORT: Cardiff Under-18s coach Craig Bellamy has “categorically” denied a claim of bullying and has vowed to clear his name.

SPORT: Waterford have signed former Republic of Ireland defender Damien Delaney.

... SOME DISTRACTION

VIRAL: Stunning pictures show snow on the Grand Canyon as the west of the US saw unusually cold temperatures at the start of 2019.

SHOWBIZ: Billy Connolly admitted he is “near the end” and life is “slipping away” as he spoke about his life with Parkinson’s disease.

SHOWBIZ: Jessie Buckley and Barry Keoghan are among the names on a shortlist predicting stars set for future success in the film world.