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# need to know
The Evening Fix... with added Hobbit Airways
Here are the things we learned, loved and shared today.
HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.
THINGS WE LEARNED
#ABORTION LAW: The long-awaited – and subject to leaks – report of the expert group appointed to give options to Ireland on abortion here was released this afternoon. Our analysis of it is here. This evening, we’ll be liveblogging a debate on abortion on TV3 (with Vincent Browne moderating) so check back in for that.
#SELLAFIELD: The risk posed to Ireland by an “incident” at Sellafield in the future would have “no observable health effects in Ireland”. That is the conclusion of a less high-profile report – but a very important one – which was commissioned by the Department of the Environment and also released today. Surprised? Intrigued? Read more here.
#ESM: The European Court of Justice decided this morning that independent TD Thomas Pringle had no case in challenging the legality of the permanent European bailout fund.
#CHILDREN’S REFERENDUM: One of the two women who had brought a High Court challenge to the result of the Children’s Referendum has withdrawn from the case, according to an RTÉ report. Nancy Kennelly, a resident of a nursing home in Co Limerick, had said she had voted according to information she found in a Government booklet which was later found by the Supreme Court not to be impartial.
#MILK PROTEST: While Greek bankruptcy has been averted – for now – it still hasn’t been a day without tension at the European Parliament. Thousands of dairy farmers have been protesting in Brussels and, as this picture shows, hosed the parliament down with milk today to highlight falling dairy prices.
#FACEBOOK: If you are someone with a large circle of Facebook friends, look out: you might end up suffering extra stress trying to keep them all happy. That interesting nugget comes from a study from Edinburgh researchers.
THINGS WE LOVED
- We’re sick of hearing Call Me Maybe. But we’ll never tire of hearing it as Gaeilge from Jenny Ní Ruiséil (Coláiste Lurgan). Hey, cuir glaoch orm b’fheidir. Listen here.
- Would you listen more closely to an air safety briefing if it was brought to you by Middle Earth? Of course you would. Well done, Air New Zealand.
- Kevin Spacey is being touted to play Seán Quinn in a movie (Quinnasty, perhaps?). Would Spacey be up to the job? We examined the evidence…
THINGS WE SHARED
- The New York Times shared two magnificent talents in one photo essay today – the iconoclastic guitarist Jimi Hendrix and the rock photographer Jim Marshall who captured Hendrix in his 1960s pomp. It would have been Hendrix’s 70th birthday today.
- We’d put this under ‘Things We Loved’ (because we have a grudging affection for Jedward) but really, we can’t bring ourselves to. The new Jedward waxworks, unveiled today at National Wax Museum Plus.
