Chinese workers work on a scaffolding at one of the palace’s roof inside the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Forbidden City, once the isolated palace of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors and now turn into a major tourist attraction, located in the centre of the capital city. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#ABORTION: Ireland’s Catholic Bishops have called on members of the public to lobby politicians against passing the the Government’s draft proposals to legislate for abortion. The bishops said the legislation would legalise the “direct and intentional killing of unborn children” – and claimed it was “essential” that anyone who felt similarly should contact TDs and Senators.

#STATE ASSETS: Bord Gáis Éireann has announced the beginning of the formal sale process of its energy business, Bord Gáis Energy, with it claimed that as much as €1 billion could be raised from the sale. In a statement issued this evening the company said that it expected the sale – which is part of the government’s move to dispose of a number of State assets – to be completed by the end of the year, subject to market conditions.

#NOT GUILTY: 47-year-old Brian Shivers, who had originally been convicted of the murder of two British Solders, was acquitted today following a retrial. Shivers had denied any involvement in the attack outside the Massereene Army barracks in Antrim in March 2009. Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, were gunned down as they came out to collect a pizza delivery, in the first murders of soldiers in Northern Ireland since 1997.

#PRISONS: Ireland’s prison officers have said that specialised training should be provided to help them deal with juvenile offenders, such as those housed in St Patrick’s Institution. “We are not trained in the sensitive and complex area of childcare,” the general secretary of the POA John Clinton said. The annual conference of the Prison Officers Association heard that recent reports from the institution had complemented prison workers for their positive attitude.

#ECONOMY: The European Commission believes that Ireland’s economy will grow at a slightly slower pace than the forecasts issued by the Government. While the Irish Government’s Stability Programme Update contained a growth projection of 1.3 per cent, a report published this morning shows that Brussels expects the Irish economy to grow by 1.1 per cent this year.

#RIP: The author Mary McCarthy has died at the age of 62 following a battle with cancer, her publisher confirmed today. The former English and French teacher had only taken up writing full-time following her retirement in 2007, writing five novels in the process – Remember Me, And No Bird Sang, Crescendo, Shame the Devil and After the Rain.

THINGS WE LOVED

• You may know Will Wheaton from playing Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation and, more recently, as playing himself in the show The Big Bang Theory. Despite these appearances, he’s probably best known for being an uber nerd (believe us, this is a good thing). Here, he explains why it’s great.

(Jennifer Black-Moir/YouTube)

• This tweet from American bookshop Third Place Books put a smile of the faces of all the avid readers at TheJournal.ie HQ. Never stop reading, kid. It’s good for you!

THINGS WE SHARED

• It’s hard to believe that it’s 12 years since French duo Daft Punk released the song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. Let’s remember it with this amazing piano rendition.

(SinclairEoin/YouTube)

• DailyEdge.ie has a list of some of the foolproof ways to make a lasting impression in the office. This is one of them. Warning: We never said the lasting impression would necessarily be a good one…

(Image from Reddit)