EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the day’s main news stories, as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

• The government is planning to introduce new legislation which would see the parents of young children informed of any sex offenders living in their area. The legislation is similar to Megan’s Law in the US and Sarah’s Law in the UK, both introduced after young girls were killed by sex offenders.
• Eamon Gilmore has reacted angrily to suggestions by an ECB economist that Ireland should cut the pay of its public sector staff, saying the comments were unhelpful and the government is on track with its bailout programme. Gilmore’s cabinet colleague Pat Rabbitte said this morning that the next budget will be “extremely painful” and in today’s TheJournal.ie poll, 43 per cent of respondents said they are “dreading it”.
• Meanwhile, a housing conference has heard that Ireland needs to build an average of 30,000 new houses a year for the next 15 years to cope with the growing population, despite the current oversupply of property.
• Two independent candidates have secured enough support to ensure their names are included on the presidential election ballot paper.Seán Gallagher has four formal nominations, while Mary Davis has eight.
• The wording of the proposed referendum on the Abbeylara ruling has been released, but the bill must be passed by the 27 September in order to be put to a referendum on the same day as the presidential election.
• Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield has passed away aged 39 from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His family has thanked fans for their support throughout Whitfield’s illness, which was diagnosed last year and led to him leaving the show. In the following video, Spartacus producers explain why they chose Whitfield for the central role and the actor discusses his enthusiasm for the part:

• Around 4,000 people around Ireland are still without electricity this evening after high winds from the tail-end of Hurricane Katia. Met Éireann is warning anyone who is considering venturing out this evening that gusts of wind could reach up to 110 km/hr.
• One person has died following an explosion at a nuclear waste treatment facility in France. A second was seriously injured and another three people received minor injuries. France’s nuclear safety authority says no leaks have been detected from the Marcoule plant in the south of the country.
• At least 2,600 people have died in the unrest which broke out in Syria in mid-March this year, according to the UN.
• A 27-year-old woman has died after the car she was travelling in was involved in an accident with two other vehicles outside Drogheda, Co Louth this morning.
• A US court has rejected the appeal of a couple over their murder conviction for the death of their infant son, who died from starvation after they restricted his diet to soy milk and apple juice.
• The Irish Independent has dropped the Fantasy Rugby World Cup game it was running in conjunction with L’Oréal Men Expert. All registered users will be contacted by the organisers over the problems which closed the game.
• As the Palestinian ‘flying chair’ UN campaign comes to Dublin, Kevin Squires of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign says in an opinion piece that the political struggle for Palestinians will not end with statehood. Meanwhile, in a separate opinion piece Dr David Abrahamson argues that the portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian impasse is flawed and questions why peace continues to elude the Middle East.
• In medical news, a drug developed from a species of crocus flower could destroy cancerous tumours, according to researchers at the University of Bradford. Separately, scientists believe that glow in the dark cats they have developed may help combat HIV/Aids.
• And speaking of pets, is this the most patient/best trained dog in the world?