EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a roundup of the day’s main news – as well as any bits and pieces you may have missed.

In the race for the Áras…

• Presidential candidate Michael D. Higgins has said that comparisons between his age and that of his fellow candidate Seán Gallagher are “insulting to anyone over the age of 60″. He said he does not see the age difference as an issue.
• Mental health groups in Ireland have joined together to ask the seven presidential candidates to come up with an actual strategy for dealing with mental health issues in Ireland. Six of the seven candidates were up to the challenge.
• Polls in today’s newspapers have shown conflicting results about who is leading the race for the Áras. According to the Red C poll in the Sunday Business Post, the Dragons’ Den star Seán Gallagher has 39 per cent support but the Sunday Independent puts Michael D Higgins in front with 36 per cent.
• Meanwhile, in another mysterious #Aras11 move, David Norris has just tweeted that he will be making an “important” speech at the gates of Leinster House tomorrow morning at 10.15am.

In the day’s other news…

• About 5,000 people attended a public meeting at Clontarf’s promenade to protest against Dublin City Council plans to build an 8-foot-high flood defence wall along the 3km seafront.
• Police in Northern Ireland have issued an appeal for information about the death of a 19-year-old Donegal man in Derry. He was found unconscious in Foyle on Saturday morning and died today.
• Israel has published the names of 477 Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit’s freedom.
• Gerry Adams and Bertie Ahern are in Spain with a group of international politicians, including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, for a conference tomorrow which aims to broker peace between Basque separatists and the Government.
• A memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled in Washington DC today. President Barack Obama said the massive structure on the National Mall reminds everyone that the black preacher stirred the US conscience, making the Union “more perfect”.
• Although Fianna Fáil suffered a massive defeat in the last general election, a Spanish newspaper still isn’t sure who is running the country. In today’s publication, Spanish daily El Periódico published this photo of who they call the current Irish Prime Minister:

(hat tip to Mark Wrafter for that one)

• Yesterday’s riots in Rome will cost the city over €1 million, the mayor said today. About 135 people were injured when Occupy Wall Street-inspired protests turned violent.
• A 19-year-old former Buddhist monk has become the eighth Tibetan man to set himself on fire in protest against the Chinese government.
• Five men have been arrested in Ohio after the Amish community asked for help to stop what they call hair-cutting attacks against several followers of their faith.
• In his latest column for TheJournal.ie, former trader Nick Leeson remembers his four years in prison and how he now faces his problems head-on instead of covering them up.
• Hollywood actor and martial arts expert Steven Seagal has been sworn in as a deputy in a west Texas sheriff’s department. The Under Siege star will be working full-time to secure the US-Mexico border.
• Earlier today, New Zealand booked the second spot in the Rugby World Cup final with a semi-final victory over old rivals Australia.
• And there was some good news for Irish sport as Mark Kenneally became the first Irish qualifier for next summer’s Olympic marathon in London.
• An all-singing flash mob took over Dundrum Town Centre for five minutes today to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. Check out their uplifting rendition: