Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s…. Supertrees. These giant vertical gardens in Singapore are up to 50 metres high are are part of the city-state’s efforts to bring some greenery back to the city. (AP Photo/Wong May-E)

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

1. THINGS WE LEARNED

#DAY 13: There’s still no end in sight for beleaguered Ulster Bank customers with the bank today admitting that it does not know when service will return to normal. The bank has promised to cover utility bills for some customers who face a delay in payments coming from their accounts.

#PROPERTY MARKET: House prices are continuing to drop significantly around the country according to two separate reports today. The national average asking price for a house is now €172,000, down 53 per cent from the 2007 peak. Yowza.

#EQUALITY: Justice Minister Alan Shatter has followed the lead of Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and said that he too supports the introduction of same sex marriage in Ireland. “There is nothing the Tánaiste said with which I would disagree,” Shatter said today. The Taoiseach has yet to make any comment on the matter.

#HOUSEHOLD CHARGE: Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins has said it was ‘absolutely justifiable‘ for TDs to use Dáil travel allowances to travel around the country urging people to boycott the household charge.

#JUSTICE: Two Gardaí are assaulted every day and the number of attacks is on the rise, according to the organisation which represents members of the Garda Síochána. The Garda Representative ASsociation has called on the Minister for Justice to bring in appropriate legislation to deal with crimes against Gardaí.

#CONVERTED: Museum? Nightclub? Vegas-style wedding chapel? A group of architects have suggested the Central Bank building in Dublin city centre should be used as a library when the current occupants move out later this year, so we’ve been looking at some more alternative suggestions for what to do with the landmark building.

THINGS WE LOVED

• “The Fact Is, I’m Gay” – US journalist Anderson Cooper today wrote this excellent piece for US site The Daily Beast about why he has decided to come out, after years of refusing to answer questions about his sexuality and dismissing them as irrelevant. Slate has this good analysis of what it means for a public figure to come out.
• A QR code on a headstone. Seriously?
• This picture sent in by an anonymous reader pretty much sums up how the weather has been lately: bright enough to give us that little glimmer of hope, but with rain lurking ominously in the background. Sigh. COME ON SUMMER, WHERE ARE YOU? (Were you the person who sent us in the photo? Mail us at tips@thejournal.ie so we can credit you for taking it).

THINGS WE SHARED

• A mere 13 days after the whole fiasco began, Ulster Bank today joined Twitter and quickly got to work giving advice and information to customers and dealing with flack from disgruntled tweeters. Helpful. Personally however, we prefer the unofficial @UlsterBankPR which also happened to join Twitter today and has almost as many followers as the official account. Sample tweet:

• We’re not quite sure what to make of this one. When this Australian man found out that his wife had an affair, he was devastated. So devastated that he made this YouTube video, set to Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ to try and get her back. Hmm. What do you think?

(Video: MrJohncook1979/YouTube)

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