A Black Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina) looks around in the zoo of Hellabrunn in Munich, southern Germany. Pic: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#LABOUR One TD and two Wicklow county councillors have resigned from the Labour Party today. Dublin West TD Patrick Nulty resigned - having lost the party whip 18 months ago – and said that the party is not “acting in the interests of working people and a just economic recovery”. Meanwhile, Cllr Tom Fortune and Cllr Barry Nevin held a joint press conference and said they were resigning due to a loss of “credibility” in the party.

#AMBULANCE The HSE has apologised after an ambulance that was sent to the aid of an infant went to the wrong county. It said it was satisfied that the necessary protocols around responding to an emergency were adhered to in this case. The family live in Tennis village, in Tralee Co Kerry, but the ambulance was sent to Tennis Village on the Model Farm Road, Co Cork – 1 hour 40 minutes away. It is believed the baby died of a suspected cot death.

#HADDINGTON ROAD Gardaí, nurses and midwives have signed up to the new Haddington Road pay deal. The discussions had marked the first time that a Garda representative body had been directly involved in talks on public pay – 84 per cent of the members of the Garda Representative Association voted to accept the deal. Other major public unions including SIPTU, IMPACT and the INTO have already offered their support for the deal.

#CIGARETTES Menthol cigarettes could be banned if Health Minister James Reilly has his way. A ban on the cigarettes has been backed by the Irish Government ahead of an EU health ministers meeting in Brussels today. Health Minister James Reilly had said an EU-ban on the flavoured cigarettes was vital to ‘denormalise’ smoking for younger people.

#ROSCOMMON A plan to move more patients into a struggling psychiatric unit in Roscommon General Hospital has been slammed by TD Denis Naughten. He claimed that the unit is already understaffed and he demanded an immediate audit into the staffing levels there. His calls came following a meeting with the HSE and the local health forum, discussing the chronic staffing problems.

#BRAZIL Brazil leaders are set to meet as protests and violence get out of hand in the country. At least one protestor was killed in Sao Paulo, when a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators. One million protesters have taken to the streets in a number of cities, with clashes occurring between them and police during anti-government demonstrations. President Dilma Rousseff has called a meeting with top Cabinet members over the protests.

THINGS WE LOVED

• How cool is this? It’s astronaut Col Chris Hadfield, rendered in knit. He loves it too. (Pic: Facebook)
• A recently unearthed interview with photography legend Henri Cartier Bresson sheds more light on his craft.
• The tennis player and activist Billie Jean King speaks to the Metro about feminism, equality, and social change.
• These incredible underwater photos create a fantastical world under the sea.
• Want to see the most incredible panoramic photo of New York? Well click right here for Amraj Lalli’s breathtaking pic of Manhattan at twilight.

THINGS WE SHARED

• Did you know that planes used to have beds, carvery meals and even pianos? Here are 11 things we no longer see on airplanes.
• These are Quartz’s favourite charts of the year so far. They look at GDP, housing, Android, the NSA, and even the cost of everything in the world.
• Yesterday, Instagram launched its new video service – here’s a fantastic example of how to use it. And when you’re finished watching the video, click here to read an article on the differences between Instagram video and Vine.

(FriendsIinFaux/YouTube)