Captain of the Ecuadorian Tall Ship ‘Guayas’, Amilcar Villavicencio Palacios, poses for photographers to launch the Tall Ships Festival 2012 in Dublin Port. Photo: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#CLOSURE A Galway nursing home has been shut down over a failure to address ‘risk issues’, HIQA announced today. The Owen Riff nursing home in Oughterard was inspected by HIQA in April, which found issues of concern including nutrition and weight loss and falls management.

#SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA MCD chief Denis Desmond said today that he believes the availability of discount drink is to blame for increased concert violence. He told Today FM that a Robbie Williams gig in the Phoenix Park 10 years ago had been trouble-free, but the difference between that event and the Swedish House Mafia gig was cheap alcohol available to young people before going into the concert. He said a zero-tolerance approach will be taken to public drinking outside this Friday’s David Guetta gig in Marlay Park.

#PUSSY RIOT Police in Russia are said to be pursuing other members of the band Pussy Riot who performed at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral. Meanwhile, chess champion and opposition leader Garry Kasparov has denied accusations that he bit a policeman on the hand during a pro-Pussy Riot protest at the weekend.

#BODY FOUND The PSNI is calling for help in identifying a man whose body was found close to the Ardglass harbour on Saturday. It said that a post-mortem is being carried out to determine the cause of death. The man is 30 – 40 years old, of medium build and may have been in the Republic of Ireland recently as he was carrying euros issued there.

#EDUCATION More than two-thirds of parents believe they will have to borrow to fund their children’s third-level education, new research shows. The website Schooldays.ie said that 50 per cent of parents who responded to its survey said they were not aware of the actual cost of third level education.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Our golden girl and champion women’s boxer Katie Taylor made a trip to Crumlin Children’s Hospital today. The smiles on the faces of those she visited really warmed our hearts. If you aren’t touched by these pics, we’d wager you’re made of stone.
• Need a few moments of calm? Don’t we all these days. We loved this Do Nothing for 2 Minutes site, if only because it showed us how restless we all are in the office. Could you do nothing for two minutes? It’s more difficult than it seems…
• Are you as excited about the Rose of Tralee as we are? One thing that is guaranteed to make the whole process even more entertaining is our Rose of Tralee Bingo. Plus we are liveblogging the whole thing too. Click here to download your Rose of Tralee Bingo cards.

Pictured at the Newbridge Silverware Visitor Centre are, from left, Down Rose Una Matthews, Tyrone Rose Catherine Sherry, Westmeath Rose Aisling Baker and Washington DC Rose Briana Apgar with four-year-old Antonia-Ly Pierce from Kilkenny. Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland.

THINGS WE SHARED

• If, like us, you missed out on the days of typewriters, thanks to this invention you can relive the feeling but without discarding technological advances. This iTypewriter gives you all the fun of the typewriter, without the need for tippex or carbon paper. It is just a tad slower than using the iPad as it’s intended to be used, however…
• Find it hard to slice a banana? (Seriously) Well, thank the fruit gods that there is a banana slicer available… and according to the reviews on Amazon, it’s helpful in prison situations; for toning up flabby fingers; for cutting up hotdogs; and for feeding trained monkeys.
• Here’s the latest panorama photo from the Mars Curiosity Rover. The 360 degree picture shows the rover and the top of Mt Sharp – and is, as all pictures from the rover will be, in black and white.
• And while we’re on the subject, here’s Clara Ma, the winner of the contest to name the Mars rover, in a video thanking all at NASA for their work. It gives a nice insight into the behind-the-scenes at NASA, and even brought a tear to the rover’s (mechanical) eye:

(bellereverie/Youtube)

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