Visitors view elaborate lanterns during the Lantern Festival that marks the end to the Chinese lunar New Year celebrations, in Taipei, Taiwan, today. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

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

THINGS WE LEARNED

#SIPTU SIPTU have hit back at the recent protest by the 24/7 Frontline Service Alliance, saying that it will take more than “hot air and windy rhetoric in basketball arenas” to reach agreement. The general president of SIPTU, Jack O’Connor, accepted that members were “justifiably concerned” about the current talks on the Croke Park Extension.

#PISTORIUS The brother of Oscar Pistorius has been charged with culpable homicide over a car accident in 2010, in which a female motorcyclist died. His trial had been due to start last Thursday, a day before Carl Pistorius’s famous brother was granted bail on a charge of murder over the Valentine’s Day killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. It has now been pushed back a month.

#FIANNA FÁIL Ógra Fianna Fáil has elected its first female president, Kate Feeney. She was elected at the National Youth Conference in Sligo this weekend, which was attended by more than 500 young people.

#ANEURYSM A scholarship for research into brain aneurysm has been launched in the name of the late Adrienne Hussey, who died suddenly from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm two years ago. The scholarship was launched by a Rose of Tralee group calling themselves ‘Friends of A’.

#LOWRY Deputy Michael Lowry has said that a payment mentioned by him in a taped telephone conversation that was published in transcript form in the Sunday Independent today was “tax compliant”. The paper says that he said in the call: “I never declared it”. Lowry also said that he never had any material or beneficial interest in a company called ‘Glebe Trust’.

THINGS WE LOVED

• A physicist wanted to propose to his physicist girlfriend… so he did this. (May only make sense to physicists…)
• The Oscars are on tonight – hurrah! We will be liveblogging all of the events, from the dresses to the awards, right here on TheJournal.ie and DailyEdge.ie. Grab your popcorn and get ready for the Oscars Drinking Game.
• Ever wanted to hang out with a fox? They look like great craic. Here’s four tips to better understanding the fox.

(Kay Fedewa/YouTube)

THINGS WE SHARED

• What really causes coeliac disease? The New York Times takes a look at the illness, which affects many Irish people.
• The designer of the Daleks, Ray Cusick, has died. Here’s a look back at his work.
• As we’ve mentioned, it’s Oscars night tonight, and the glitterati will be out in force wearing a range of incredibly beautiful outfits. But are the outfits environmentally friendly, or from sustainable fabrics? This Salon piece about Suzy Amis Cameron’s search for a ‘green’ gown tells us more.
• Want to see another Harlem Shake video? Here you go:

(redbull/YouTube)

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