A model displays an Autumn/Winter design by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada during Madrid’s Fashion Week, in Madrid. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#HOMELESSNESS: The Government has drawn up new plans aimed at ending long-term homelessness by 2016. The plans, revealed today by Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan said a housing-led approach would be used to tackle the crisis.

#JOBS: Medical devices company Abbott is seeking to cut about 200 jobs from its facility in Co Tipperary. About 1,400 people are employed at the centre, which manufactures vascular products.

#LAS VEGAS: Three people have died and at least three have been injured following a gun fight between two vehicles on the Las Vegas Strip. The gun battle caused a fiery crash at an intersection involving a taxi that burst into flames, killing the taxi driver, his passenger and the driver of one of the other vehicles.

#MEDIA: Newspapers in Ireland have recorded a record fall in circulation in the second half of 2012 when compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data published by the UK-based Audit Bureau of Circulations. Only one national Irish title – the Sunday Independent – recorded an increase in circulation, though only by a few hundred copies per week.

#PISTORIOUS: South Africa police have appointed a new lead investigator to the probe into the death of Reeva Steenkamp, following the removal of officer Hilton Both over allegations of his involvement in an attempted murder. Oscar Pistorius’s bail hearing will enter its fourth day tomorrow.

A young Indian Hindu devotee combs his hair after a dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati River, during the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims have been attending the Maha Kumbh festival, which is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days and falls every 12 years. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)

THINGS WE LOVED:

• This amazing journey through the streets of Dublin circa 1966, courtesy of RTÉ Archives. The full-length version of ‘Discover’, filmed 47 years ago, shows a city very much different to that of today – with no Central Bank building on Dame Street or Civic Offices on Wood Quay.
• We can find beauty and wisdom in the most unlikely places, like table-top stands and bathroom scales… yes, really. Why not take some life advice from machines?
• Casting directors may be the unsung heroes of the film industry, says Vanity Fair, and we’re inclined to agree. Check out this list of memorable film roles and the actors once considered for them. (We have just one word for who was being considered for Jack Torrance in The Shining: No.)

Talking of films, are you ready for the 85th Academy Awards? This will put you in the mood for Sunday…

Uploaded by Nelson Carvajal

THINGS WE SHARED:

• The leaking of White House immigration reform documents have brought a little more certainty about how the US government plans to deal with the nations millions of illegal immigrants. Do you think you have what it takes to get through the bureaucratic and political maze: Take the quiz to find out.
• The Guardian’s coverage into stolen identities used by undercover police officers infiltrating political groups delves into the story of Bob Lambert – the undercover officer accused of stealing the identity of a dead child, deceiving two women into long-term relationships, fathering a child, and then vanishing when his deployment ended.

A young fallow deer grazes at Bradgate Park, Newtown Linford, Leicestershire. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

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