A dog named Sare drinks water from a fountain in Belgrade, Serbia. Hot weather has set in with temperatures rising up to 34 Celsius in Belgrade. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

THINGS WE LEARNED

#ROSCOMMON A nurse from Roscommon County Hospital’s psychiatric unit is out on long-term sick leave after being assaulted by a patient, the Psychiatric Nurses Association has said today. It made the comment while strenuously denying government and HSE claims that the staffing crisis at the unit has been caused by sick leave. The PNA has highlighted the crisis in the service by outlining a string of dangerous incidents that have occurred at the hospital, calling on the government to intervene.

#MURDER Gardaí continue to hunt for the killer of a murdered mother and daughter, Jolanta Lubiene and her daughter Enrika, who died after being stabbed in their home. The husband of Jolanta and father of Enrika, Marius Lubys, said he wants them to be buried in their native Lithuania, and is attempting to raise money to repatriate their bodies. Gardaí also issued an appeal over the murders in Lithuanian this evening.

#ABORTION The Pro-Life campaign has called for a free vote for all TDs on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013.  At a press briefing today, spokesperson Caroline Simons said that a number of Fine Gael TDs are “very, very unhappy that they are being coerced into voting one particular way”. One TD, Brian Walsh, has confirmed he will not be supporting the legislation, saying that as many as 10 parliamentary party members will oppose the bill.

#BRAZIL Brazil is to deploy elite police following mass demonstrations against government spending in the country. So far, more than 200,000 people have taken part in the rallies. The special police will be sent to cities in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Ceara and the capital Brasilia. National Force police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a protest on Sunday in Rio, which was held against the huge cost of hosting the 2014 World Cup.

#OBAMA Clare Daly TD launched an attack on the government and the Irish media today over the coverage of the Obama family’s visit to Ireland. While in the Dáil, she accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of being overly deferential in his treatment of the US President. She also noted that there were news bulletins covering what Michelle Obama ate for lunch in Dalkey, but “very little questioning” of the fact she had lunch with Bono, who Daly called “Mr Tax Exile”. Kenny described her comments as “disgraceful”.

#JILL MEAGHER The family of Jill Meagher have said they feel no anger or bitterness towards her killer, Adrian Bayley. Bayley was jailed for at least 35 years for the rape and murder of the Irish woman in Melbourne last September. Bayley will be 76 years old before he becomes eligible for parole again.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Pre-Budget Submission 2014 themed ‘The Key to Cost Effective Dementia Care: Timely Diagnosis and Early Interventions’ was launched today. Pictured at the launch outside the Dail is speaker Helen Rochford-Brennan from Sligo who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s last year and is involved with Irish Working Group of People with Dementia. Pic: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

THINGS WE LOVED

• Oh gosh. We can barely handle this story. It’s about… a lamb who had its ears hacked off and now wears a homemade bonnet to protect himself. Sniff.
• Are you absolutely sick of your friends ignoring you so they can use their phones in the pub/at dinner/at a party? Here’s how you can get them away from the demon smartphones.
• Some beautiful portraits of women taken by the men who loved them.
• Yet another animal story to make us cry – this time with cuteness. Here’s a US Marine who rescued four baby rabbits (via Buzzfeed)

(Joshua Bisnar/YouTube)

THINGS WE SHARED

• A story on the Waterford Whispers News website suggested that Michelle Obama thought Irish people were “ugly m*****f*****s”. But the fact it was a satirical piece seemed to have bypassed quite a number of people, as you can tell from their over-the-top reactions.
• Meet Morris, the cat. He’s no ordinary cat – he’s standing for election in Mexico. More from The Guardian here.
• Ever heard of a ‘tree kangaroo’? We hadn’t until we saw this very cute video:

(stlzootube/YouTube)