Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States perform during the Ice Dance free dance of the ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating in Tokyo. (Image: Koji Sasahara/AP/Press Association Images)

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

THINGS WE LEARNED

#CAN WE’VE AN EXTENSION ON THAT, SIR? European Finance Ministers have agreed to give Ireland seven more years to repay its bailout loans.

#SAVITA: The inquest into the death of 31-year-old dentist Savita Halappanavar continues in Galway today. The coroner’s court heard about various shortcomings in her care, including poor documentation of her worsening condition and a failure to record her vital signs, RTÉ News reports.

#MURDER PROBE: Three men and a woman have been arrested by gardaí investigating the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Jamie Lindsay in Athy last month.

#IRON LADY: The BBC has said it will play a “short clip” of the Wizard of Oz song ‘Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead’ during the music charts this weekend. Downloads of the tune have sky-rocketed since the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

#DUMPING: Plans by Dublin City Council to withdraw street cleaning services at illegal dumping black spots have been strongly criticised by An Taisce today.

#WARNINGS: RTÉ and ESB have issued warnings about a new scam which is trying to lure customers into using fake premium line phone numbers. Details here.

THINGS WE LOVED

• The Guardian’s ingenious ad for tomorrow’s edition. Love or hate her, she can probably still sell papers.
• Stephen Hawking…for these 8 reasons.
• Have you ever worried about what happens to your private emails, photos and online musings when you die? Google has a solution for you.
• Robert Downey Jr went all out for a photocall to promote his new movie Iron Man 3 in Munich today.

(Image: Matthias Schrader/AP/Press Association Images)

THINGS WE SHARED

• The New York Times has a fancy interactive timeline of North Korea’s threats over the years. And, given that, over at The Atlantic Donald Kirk asks, “Why South Koreans Aren’t Worried About Nuclear War?”
• Also on The Atlantic, staff writer Conor Friedersdorf tells us why the trial of Dr Kermit Gosnell should be front page news. The 72-year-old is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder for crimes committed at his abortion clinic. (Warning: contains extremely graphic imagery and descriptions)
• Finally: Just keep spinning, just keep spinning:

(YouTube: Dewey Jefferson)

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More