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evening fix

The Evening Fix... now with added curse words

Here are the things we learned, loved and shared today.

Workers hang a giant poster for the 66th Cannes Film Festival showing Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward kissing. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#STRIKE: The Labour Relations Commission has intervened in the Bus Éireann dispute and invited both sides to attend talks at 8 o’clock tonight in a bid to end the strike which has so far lasted two days. Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said all sides need to work together to secure the future of services and jobs at the company.

#PROPERTY TAX: The head of the Revenue Commissioners has said she almost has more confidence in the property tax helpline following allegations of fraud. Josephine Feehily said that no customer had suffered a loss after an operator on the line was found to have been asking customers for their credit card details.

#MURDER: The British man accused of killing 12-year-old girl Tia Sharp has dramatically changed his plea to guilty on the fifth day of his trial at the Old Bailey in London. Stuart Hazell, who was the partner of Tia’s grandmother at the time of the killing, said he was changing his plea to spare her family from having to deal with the rest of the trial.

#BANGLADESH: Several major clothing brands – including Primark and H&M – have signed an accord committing to improved fire and building standards in Bangladesh. The companies have said the new accord, which will be legally binding, may help to prevent such tragedies as the collapse of the nine-storey garment factory which left more than 1,000 people dead.

#PROTEST: People in the Cork town of Midleton have protested outside the constituency office of a government TD over the lack of ambulances in the area following the death of a 2-year-old boy. Vakaris Martinaitis was driven to hospital after a fall from an upstairs window at his home because no ambulance was available. The toddler later died in hospital and was buried in the town today.

#DISCOVERY: An ancient log boat has been found on the banks of the River Boyne in Drogheda and is to be dated using a radiocarbon sampling to determine just how old it is. The boat was discovered by a member of the Boyne Fisherman’s Rescue and Recovery group and is believed to be well preserved underneath the river bank.

THINGS WE LOVED

  • This Humboldt penguin swimming in West Java in Indonesia wins the award for Coolest Mildly Sceptical Animal of the Day (a prestigious award which we have just invented now):

(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

  • Would you ever curse in work? What about in front of your parents? In this brief but fascinating interview the author of a new book about swearing explains how curse words change over time – but there will always be a set of words that are off limits.
  • Anyone who has ever internally raged upon seeing an apostrophe in the wrong place may appreciate this piece from the BBC website, which looks at bad grammar and the people who really, truly hate it (including at least one person who was annoyed when bookseller Waterstones decided to drop its apostrophe).

THINGS WE SHARED

  • The truth hurts, so here’s 21 lies you tell on a first date from Buzzfeed (yes, “Let’s go out again sometime” features on the list).
  • Ugh, annoying ads are just the worst. There are so many of them and they’re everywhere. DailyEdge.ie has helpfully put together this list of 13 ads that make you want to stick knitting needles in your eyes and ears so you can at least realise that you’re not alone in your deep, deep hatred of certain ads.
  • If you haven’t seen this already, well, you’re in for a treat. Commander Chris Hadfield, his last day on the ISS, and an excellent cover version:

(Video: Chris Hadfield/YouTube)

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