NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news…

Pictured today is student Michelle MacDonagh at the launch of FAIL BETTER, a free exhibition exploring beautiful, heroic and instructive failures at Trinity’s Science Gallery. The exhibition opens to the public today. (Photocall Ireland)

IRELAND

• There was confusion over the whereabouts of an 18-year-old Galway man after he had been reported safe and well, a report that turned out to be false.
• A court heard the details of phone calls between Seán Quinn and the board of Anglo Irish Bank
• The Dáil debated the Pantigate controversy
• Gardaí appealed for help in finding a missing 15-year-old Wicklow girl
• Two men were arrested in connection with the murder of gangland figure Eamon Kelly
• Public Accounts Committee members John Deasy and Shane Ross engaged in verbal sparring, with Deasy saying Ross was more interested in “getting on the 6 o’clock news” than the truth
• A family appealed for the return of a watch stolen from their deceased father
• The former boss of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority was asked to explain credit card expenses in Lillies Bordello and other bars
• The Taoiseach said that he will participate in the New York St Patrick’s Day Parade
• Residents around Croke Park said that they may attempt to prevent Garth Brooks from holding his summer concerts

WORLD

Coronation Street actor William Roache speaks to the media outside Preston Crown Court, as he was today found not guilty by a jury of two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl in east Lancashire in 1967, and four indecent assaults involving four girls aged between 11 or 12 and 16 in the Manchester area in 1965 and 1968. (PA Wire)

#NOT GUILTY: Coronation Street actor Bill Roache was today found not guilty on all charges after being accused of two counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault. The 82-year-old said that “in these situations, there are no winners”.

#HOLY DAVIDSON: A Harley Davidson that briefly belonged to Pope Francis sold at auction for nearly €250,000. All the money will go to a Catholic charity.

#DOG OF WAR: The Taliban said that they have captured a US Military sniffer dog, but say that he is alive and well.

INNOVATION

• Ever wondered what stealth technology actually is? Of course you have. Now, you can find out. [Geek.com]
• Twitter is going to open up the site’s data to researchers in a unique project. [TheJournal.ie]

PARTING SHOT

If you haven’t heard it yet, two openly gay members of the Dáil spoke about their experiences of homophobia today.  Labour’s John Lyons told how he knew what it is like “to be called a queer, to be called a fag, to be called a gay”.

Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer spoke of being “beaten, spat, chased, harassed and mocked, like Deputy Lyons, because of who I am”.

Both speeches can be seen here.