NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

Debris from a row of homes destroyed by a tornado in Washington, Illinois seen early this morning. The tornado destroyed several hundred homes in the small town. Pic: (AP Photo/David Mercer)

IRISH

• Former solicitor Thomas Byrne has been found guilty of 50 charges of theft, fraud, deception, and forgery in Ireland’s largest ever fraud trial.
• Businessman Anthony Lyons, who was convicted of sexual assault and had five-and-a-half years of a six-year sentence suspended, has had his sentence ruled unduly lenient.
• The High Court has granted leave for two mothers of children with Down Syndrome to challenge the law on the provision of resource teaching hours to children with the disability.
• Over 800 people will leave telecoms company Eircom as part of moves at the company aimed at shedding 2,000 jobs by next year.
• The ESB have warned of ‘potentially serious impact for customers’ as workers voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over the semi-state’s pension scheme.
• A new piece of legislation will address the legal status of children in civil partnerships, surrogacy arrangements and assisted human reproduction.
• TheJournal.ie has seen a draft report which looks at the potential powers a directly elected mayor for Dublin could have. It contains a number of significant proposals.
• An Garda Síochána has become the first Irish organisation to sign up for Twitter Alerts which are sent to users during emergencies or natural disasters.
• Mandate Trade Union says it has concerns over the 1,200 jobs at Arnotts and Boyers.
• The forty worst ghost estates in the country may be levelled next year under a plan being considered by Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan.
• Businesses will be able to access the new postcode database being set up in 2015 but they will be charged to do so.
• Financier Dermot Desmond is to more than double his shareholding in Independent News & Media the group announced today.

WORLD

#PARIS: A manhunt is underway in France after a man was seriously injured when a gunman opened fire in the lobby of a French newspaper.

#US: At least six people died after dozens of tornadoes flattened entire neighbourhoods, flipped over cars and uprooted trees in the Midwestern United States.

#CHILD PORN: Google is to introduce new measures to make it more difficult for people to find images of child sexual abuse on the internet.

#LIFT-OFF: NASA has successfully launched its unmanned MAVEN spacecraft that will make the 10-month journey to Mars to carry out investigations of its atmosphere.

INNOVATION

• Apple is close to buying 3D-sensing company PrimeSense which was responsible for the technology behind Microsoft Kinect for Xbox and computers. The Apple deal for PrimeSense is reported to be in the region of $345 million. [AllThingsD]
• Mashable’s list of ’13 Inventors You’ve Never Heard of’ includes Samuel O’Reilly, the Irishman who invented the electric tattooing machine. [Mashable]

Parting Shot

(Pic: Facebook/ Nigel Millard Photography)

Crewmen from the Newcastle Lifeboat Station in Co. Down at the launch of the photographic exhibition, “The Lifeboat: Courage on our Coasts”, at Grand Canal Dock in Dublin today. The exhibition at Grand Canal Square runs for the next three weeks.