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

It was announced today that Aine Lawlor is to present the News At One on RTE with Richard Crowley and the Week in Politics on Sundays. Here she is interviewing former Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fail Bertie Ahern TD. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland.

• An Irish woman, Michaella McCollum Connolly, who had been reported missing in Ibiza, was arrested in Peru for allegedly possessing drugs.
• A call has been made for an inquiry into high mortality rates at mother and baby homes.
• RTÉ announced that Sean O’Rourke is to replace Pat Kenny and Claire Byrne is to join Morning Ireland, in a radio reshuffle.
• A total of 56 PSNI officers were injured and seven people were arrested during rioting in Belfast last night.
• Age Action has warned that an increase in gas prices could cause hardship for elderly people.
• A leaked HSE report into patient safety risks has been described as “frightening but not surprising”.
• The Department of Jobs has spent €222k on courses, including whiteboard training and French lessons.
• The bell and wheel from the sunken Tall Ship Astrid have not been stolen, a group of divers have discovered.
• An elderly man was killed when his car collided with a truck at Mount Lodge Demesne in Monaghan yesterday evening.
• Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cúiv has said that historic differences shouldn’t stop the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition debate.

Stephen Fry (right) and Peter Tatchell (left) speak to demonstrators on Whitehall, London, during a protest against Russia’s anti-gay stance. Pic: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

INTERNATIONAL

#RUSSIA Tensions between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin have escalated over Edward Snowden, but Obama denies they have a bad relationship.

#VIETNAM A father and son who had fled to the forest in order to escape the war 40 years ago have been found.

#USA A plane crashed into a house in Connecticut, leading to the deaths of four people, presumed to be three children and one adult.

INNOVATION

• What do you think the cheaper version of Apple’s iPhone will look like? It might be this…
• Researchers have for the first time written and deleted data on single hypothetical particles, ‘skyrmions’ – these could solve data storage problems, but the research would have to be translated into the real world. [Tech News World]

PARTING SHOT

A short film, directed by Werner Herzog, looks at the impact that texting and driving can have on people’s lives. It’s a sobering watch, and one that is being shared widely online.

Read: And here is what happened yesterday…

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