Ah lads, get a room. Ian Evans and Paul O’Connell get intimate during a Lions training session at Carton House in Maynooth yesterday. (Niall Carson/PA Wire)

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

THINGS WE LEARNED

#TALKING TAX: Leaders from EU member states have asked the EU itself to examine ways of tackling “aggressive tax planning” by multinational companies – in a seemingly direct response to criticism of how firms like Apple can manipulate tax systems. The European Commission will now formulate new plans by the end of the year. Before the meeting, Enda Kenny again insisted that Ireland does not negotiate tax deals with individual companies.

#CROKE PARK 2a: The trade union representing primary school teachers has recommended that members accept the revised public pay deal, which will see teachers’ wages rise by €1,500 a year by 2018 – though while losing a supervision allowance worth more than that amount. The INTO will now ballot its members on whether to accept the proposals, which replace the defeated Croke Park 2 deal.

#NUCLEAR POWER: A report into the impact of building eight new nuclear sites in the UK has found that the effect on human health in Ireland would be “very low”. The report from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland assessed five possible accident scenarios, and found that even in a Fukushima-like catastrophe, the radiation Irish people would be exposed to would be less than the recommended annual limit.

#RTÉ: The head of the national broadcaster has admitted that RTÉ’s top on-air figures are paid “too much”. Noel Curran said he was now working to reduce the pay of broadcasters, which had ballooned during the boom.

#LONDON: A meeting of the UK’s national emergency response team has been called, after a man – thought to be a soldier – was killed and reportedly decapitated in an attack in London. The incident occurred in Woolwich this afternoon; video has emerged of one of the alleged attacks trying to justify his actions.

#COSTA CONCORDIA: The captain of the stricken cruise liner the Costa Concordia is to stand trial for manslaughter. Francesco Schettino is charged with causing the shipwreck and the death of 32 passengers, and could face 20 years in jail if conviced.

A gust of wind blows Pope Francis’s mantle during his weekly general audience in St. Peter Square at the Vatican. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

THINGS WE LOVED

• The idea that you could now get a toothbrush that secretes caffeine while you brush your teeth. Why dirty your teeth with coffee, the sweet elixir of life, if you can get your caffeine fix as soon as you go to the toilet?
• The women in the office assure me that bearded men are better. “They just are,” said a colleague who shall not be named. But in case there’s anyone still on the fence, here are 22 reasons why, courtesy of BuzzFeed.
• YouTube’s preparing for its giant Comedy Week. Here’s one of its videos – investigating why the Scooby-Doo mystery team is terrible –  like, worryingly terrible – at solving mysteries:

(YouTube: Cracked)

THINGS WE SHARED

• Here’s something you don’t see every day: a circle rainbow (or a bit of it, anyway). Reader Michael Brady has sent us this snap of something he saw near Thurles last week: a tiny sliver of rainbow in the middle of the clouds.
• Well, this is easily the best use of Vine we’ve seen so far…
• Finally, if you spend any time at all on YouTube you’ll probably have encountered Taylor Swift’s ode to being 22. (She’s 23.) To put her back in her place, here’s Conan O’Brien advising her on HIS memories of being 22. We think his version is better:

(YouTube: teamcoco)

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