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

• A Galway woman has been given a 24-year jail sentence, with the final 16 suspended, for the cruel and neglectful treatment of eight of her children.
• The Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has signed into law a 10 per cent cut on fees paid to solicitors and counsel who provide ‘free’ criminal legal aid.
• The Courts Service report for 2010 reveals that there has been an increase in drugs offences at the Circuit Criminal Court, an increase in child custody and access applications, and a decrease in separation and divorce.
• Poor spelling is costing online businesses “millions” in potential revenue because it raises concerns about a website’s credibility in the minds of customers, according to one British entrepreneur.
• Rebekah Brooks is to answer questions put by a parliamentary committee regarding the News International phone hacking scandal. News Corps chief Rupert Murdoch and his son James have also agreed to do so.

Congratulations to Elaine Alexander , below, who has become the first woman from Ireland to circumnavigate the island in a kayak.

• Judgement has been reserved in the case of Julian Assange’s appeal against his extradition to Sweden to face rape and molestation charges, after lawyers failed to agree on the definition of "consent" during the hearing.
• Just hours after the IMF's Ajai Chopra said that a European-wide solution was needed to contain the zone's economic crisis, Italy's Senate passed an austerity budget totalling around €45 billion in a bid to stave off market worries over its ability to cope with its spiralling debt. The country's lower house must also vote in the measures tomorrow.
• The Arab League has endorsed a Palestinian plan to seek full membership at the United Nations this autumn - setting up a likely confrontation with the United States in the powerful UN Security Council.
• As the worst drought in 60 years continues to ravage the Horn of Africa, aid agencies have called on public to send support. A photo-essay from Oxfam in Ethiopia and a first-hand account from a Concern worker in Somalia paint a stark picture of the deteriorating condition in the region.
• To show solidarity with out French brethren on Bastille Day, The Journal.ie has  put together a list of 7 reasons why the Irish are as French as a string of onions. Zut alors!
• Some couples (ok - some brides) love the thought of "themed" weddings, while others are quick to turn up their noses at the suggestion... but the mind truly boggles at the choice of one pair, who decided that "Colonial-Africa" was a theme that really spoke to them.
• Feeling confused by the new rules of dress in the Dáil? Then check out style guru Alanna Gallagher's timely post on weeklyedit.ie, which gives tips on how to dress for the Dáil whether you're a rebel independent, arch rival opposition or leader of the pack...

We believe this is what is termed an "occupational hazard": one underwater photographer got more than he bargained for when the brazen octopus he was filming reached out and grabbed his camera, starting a chase across the sea bed. Don't worry though, they seem to get over their differences in the end (and there's even a pretty catchy tune about friendship between man and cephalopod mollusc... awww).

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