NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news…

Cyclists in the Giro D'Italia cross the River Liffey at Talbot Memorial Bridge Sam Boal Sam Boal

IRELAND

• The body of a 35-year-old man was found on a road in Louth
• A viable device found in a car park of a hotel was made safe
• Dublin West by-election candidate David Hall found himself at the centre of a racism and blackmail row
• A 23-year-old died in a car crash in Wicklow
• Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said the Department of Justice is “not fit for purpose”
• A man was arrested after threatening staff at a hotel with a blade
• Five teenage boys were rescued from a mountain in Antrim
• The Giro D’Italia came to Dublin and made for gorgeous photos
• The new head of the Irish Pharmacy Union hit out at the government on medical cards
• Labour leader Eamon Gilmore indicated that his party wanted to change the course of the coalition

INTERNATIONAL

A woman checks documents of an Ukrainian man before issuing him a ballot paper in Moscow, AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

#UKRAINE: Rebel regions in Ukraine began voting in referendums called by pro-Russian militias. The vote, carried out as two “referendums” in provinces where the insurgents hold more than a dozen towns, marks a serious deepening of the political crisis in Ukraine.

#EUROVISION: The victory of Austria’s bearded drag act in last night’s Eurovision Song Contest caused anger today, particularly with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

#VATICAN: The Pope told newly-ordained priests not to turn people away with scoldings or bad treatment, urging the church to be less obsessed with abortion and contraception.

INNOVATION

• Is the Google Nexus 5 phone any use? We found out. [TheJournal.ie]
• Want to play a game that involves GPS, running around and buried treasure? Geocaching is for you. [TheJournal.ie]
• Are killer robots ethical? The UN is going to debate it this week. [Gizmodo]

PARTING SHOT

Brown Bag Films is a massive Irish success story. But how do they do what they do? TheJournal.ie went behind the scenes to find out.