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

• The first people have been jailed in connection with the riots in the UK in the past few days. The Greater Manchester Police have said the sentences handed to the two men – 10 weeks and 16 weeks – are the first of many. One man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to a hit and run in Birmingham last night in which three men died. The father of one of those men has appealed for calm in the wake of the violence.
• Stocks have fallen sharply today following fears of problems in the French banking sector. Earlier US markets opened with steep drops while European markets also reversed earlier gains. French banking shares plunged amid talk that a credit-rating downgrade is on the way for the country. Meanwhile the credit rating agency Fitch has said that Cyprus is probably going to need a bailout. The country has been struggling in the aftermath of an explosion at its main power station.
• At home Bank of Ireland has signalled an increase in its variable mortgage rates, on the same day that it reported a €723 million loss for the first six months of the year
• Students have a third less money in their pockets now than they did in 2009, according to a new study. Two years ago the average student had €86 a week in disposable income. Now that figure is €55. Meanwhile people who are receiving welfare payments are being reminded of the Back to Education scheme, which allows some people to upskill while retaining their payments.
• Some good news on the jobs front today: 500 new jobs were announced in a variety of healthcare and startup companies, along with a community nursing facility in Cork; Nando’s, the chicken restaurant, is opening two new branches in Dublin with the creation of 65 jobs, and Supervalu is creating 70 new jobs in Laois.
• China started to ‘road test’ its first ever aircraft carrier today… also today, Taiwan unveiled a new missile it said was an ‘aircraft carrier killer’. China and Taiwan tend not to see eye to eye. Meanwhile Chinese blogger Ran Yunfei has been released after six months in police detention. Yunfei was detained in February after anonymous online calls for China to imitate the Arab Spring.
• Yep. That’s the Lord Mayor of Dublin Andrew Montague in a poncho. He was pictured at the launch of Dublin’s Latin America Festival, which will run from tomorrow until 21 August, concluding with the International Tango Festival.

Image: Jason Clarke Photography

• Finally, want to see a beard created out of thin air? Get your eyes around this.

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