EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of the main news stories of the day as well as the bits and pieces that you may have missed.

• The government has announced today that the presidential election will take place on Thursday 27 October, with three referenda also due to be held that day. The choice of a Thursday is already coming under fire, with Ógra Fianna Fáil describing the decision as “hypocritical”, as both Labour and Fine Gael have criticised Thursday elections in the past. There is concern that students and young people are unable to travel home to vote.
• The government also announced today that each household will pay a charge of €100 from next year. The measure will be introduced in December’s budget and will apply for two years, in line with the terms of the EU-IMF loan agreement.
• Sticking with the bailout and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said that he thinks the revised terms which were negotiated last week will save Ireland €900 million a year.
• An American woman who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter after her four-year-old son was killed while crossing the road with her has been given probation and a chance to clear her name. Raquel Nelson was crossing with three children when a car carrying a drunk driver struck them.
• Five UN peacekeepers have been wounded in a bomb blast in the Lebanese port city of Sidon. The injured were all French soldiers. The Irish Defence Forces press office has confirmed that no Irish personnel were involved in the incident.
• The first consignment of Irish aid heading for Somalia will arrive in the country tomorrow, and includes 38 tonnes of emergency supplies.
• Irish author Sebastian Barry has been named on the longlist for the Man Booker prize, for his novel On Canaan’s Side. He’s an old hand at it, having been on the shortlist twice before. He joins 12 other authors on this year’s longlist. You can see all 13 here.
• It looks like a single licence plate for Tipperary residents is on the way with the news that the councils of Tipp North and Tipp South are to be merged. Seperate county councils for North and South will cease to exist from 2014.The decision has led to some fierce debate in the comments section of the story.
• A documentary about U2 is to open the Toronto Film Festival in September – the first time a documentary has opened the event. A film about an Irish women who dresses as a man in order to work and the ensuing love triangle, starring Glenn Close, will also be screened.
• Read crime reporter Abigail Rieley’s take on journalistic ethics, the crucial role of tabloids, and why the phone hacking scandal can’t be allowed to stifle the press.
• Ever dreamed of playing golf with Anchorman star Will Ferrell? Well he has some rules…
• Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan was in Newbridge Demesne today to help release 26 red kites in to the wild. He and TD Alan Farrell had to have their wits about them though:

Pic: Photocall Ireland

• And finally…I’m sure these tourists were glad that they were watching from the ground and not ON the plane as this flight over Ibiza soared with flames shooting out of one of the engines (it did eventually land safely)…