Venezuelan challenger Jaider Parra lies on the canvas after being knocked down by Japanese champion Takashi Uchiyama, left, in the fifth round of their WBA super featherweight boxing title bout in Tokyo earlier today. Uchiyama knocked out Parra in the round to defend his title. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#ABORTION: Surprise, surprise – there’s some tensions in the government about the enactment of the draft abortion laws. It appears Fine Gael and Labour are at odds over the extent to which backbenchers will be allowed to propose amendments – with FG saying members will get all the time they need, while Labour says any material changes will be voted down.

#BUDGET: The leaders of those two parties have had other things on their minds today, though. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have been in Brussels, trying to break a major EU budgetary logjam. Ireland holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, which has agreed a Budget for the EU for between 2014 and 2010 – but the deal has been rejected by the European Parliament, who need to approve it before it can become law. Time is running out to try and bridge the two sides.

#STABBING: A teenager has been arrested after another teenager was stabbed in the centre of Castlebar today. The incident occurred at around 1:30pm in the busy Market Square area of the Co Mayo town. The victim’s injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

#FIRE: An 81-year-old woman has died following a house fire in Co Cork. The emergency services were called to the house outside Macroom shortly after 7am this morning. Two other adults in the house, a man and a woman, were treated for smoke inhalation.

#SYRIA: A United Nations investigator into potential war crimes in Syria has said there is evidence suggesting that the country’s anti-government rebels have used chemical weapons against their enemies. Carla Del Ponte says rebels appear to have been using sarin gas – while there is no evidence of the government having done likewise.

#SOCIAL MEDIA: Workers in medium-sized Irish companies spend almost an hour on social media websites while at work every day – over a seventh of the average working week. The average worker spends 56 minutes of office time per day on the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Pictured are Guy (6) and Ziv Ytshak (10), from Israel, Robert Kelly (7) from Dublin and Ella Lamba (7) from Tanzania at the People’’s Park in Dún Laoghaire. They were helping to launch the Bratacha festival of flags, logos and emblems, which runs in Dún Laoghaire from Thursday to Sunday. (Picture: Jason Clarke Photography)

THINGS WE LOVED:

• The comments on the Daily Edge’s piece on the 14 ways you know you’re at an Irish wedding. “Don’t forget the child of Prague been left out to get the weather!”
• The nostalgia trip of Gizmodo’s ’10 most useful Lego bricks’ collection.
• Zach Galifianakis was host on Saturday Night Live over the weekend. Chief among the big hits was this piece featuring guest appearances from his Hangover co-stars Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms:

(YouTube: ViralsNowBlog)

THINGS WE SHARED:

• How do you stop your highly-sought-after drug being sold illicitly online? Easy. If you’re Pfizer, you just start selling Viagra online directly (to anyone with a prescription for it). It’s an interesting model which, if popular, could spell trouble for some pharmacists…
• This is an oldie, but a goodie. You know those ‘McBain’ movies in The Simpsons? Did you know that, if you string the clips together, they make a (mostly) coherent movie?
• Finally this evening, the ‘hidden advertising for kids’ we promised you in the title. Every EU country is in the process of rolling out a crisis helpline for children, which can be accessed at 116 111. Here’s a video from advertisers figuring out how to market it in Spain – mindful of the fact that children need to be able to see the ad, without attracting the attention of abusive adults who might be with them at that moment.

(YouTube: GREY SPAIN)

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