EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of the main news stories of the day, as well as the bits and pieces that you may have missed.

• The Commission for Energy Regulation is backing a 22 per cent increase in Bord Gáis prices, which is six per cent lower that the increase suggested by the gas and electricity provider itself. The CER said to day that the increase is “unavoidable”.
• The jury in the trial of a man accused of raping his mother has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict. The Dublin man has admitted that they had sex, but said it was consensual. The jury said todat that they had ‘reached an impasse’.
• A report in to the Corrib gas ‘rape tape’ controversy by the Garda Ombudsman Commission was published by the Justice Minister Alan Shatter today. Among the details in the report were a claim by a Garda who was present at the time of the arrest of the women in question, who said that he may have heard protesters mentioning rape while the arrests were taking place. It was also detailed that files had been deleted or overwritten from the camcorder in question. It’s understood that these files were academic in nature, but forensic analysts were unable to uncover them. The allegations that gardaí joked about raping two female protesters have been backed up by the recoding, according to the report.
• Following yesterday’s news that Ireland is in the top ten when it comes to global broadband speed, there was more good news today with Eircom revealing plans to invest more than €100 million in its broadband network, potentially delivering speeds of up to 150Mbps. UPC meanwhile announced today that it’s creating 50 new jobs in the coming weeks, and is invested €80 million in its broadband network.
• As the US House of Representatives prepares for a vote on a Republican bill to raise the debt ceiling of the US, take a look at TheJournal.ie‘s bluffer’s guide to what it all means, and what it could mean for Ireland.
• There’s renewed outrage in the phone hacking scandal with the news that the phone of the mother of murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne was targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator hired by the News of the World. Sara Payne had been given the phone by the News of the World, as the paper had backed a campaign for a new law arising out of Sarah’s death.
• Meanwhile staff who lost their jobs as a result of the closure of the News of the World have been offered new jobs… in Siberia.
• Time for the winning quip in TheJournal.ie‘s caption competition. We asked you for your best take on this picture of Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Rory McIlroy at the Irish Open Pro-Am in Killarney:

Pic: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan

And the winner is: “I took a better swing at the Pope”

Well done to the winner Julia Norton. You can see the rest of the captions here.

• Fancy trading up? Or just seeing how the other half lives? Take a look at this slideshow of some of the world’s most expensive homes, including a three-bed barn conversion in Wyoming, USA… a steal at just €122 million.
• Think your boss is a bit of a slave-driver? Well it could be much worse, as new research reveals that Irish managers are among the most easygoing and easy to deal with in Europe.
• Space scientists have discovered that an asteroid has been following the earth for thousands of years, meaning that the moon is not our only travelling companion. The LA Times has the full story.
• And finally, watch this amazing video of a humpback whale showing her appreciation after being freed from fishing nets:

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