For all the commercialisation, for all the allegations of drug taking, for all the interweaving with politics, the Olympic Games remain special. The soccer World Cup has grown to rival the Olympics as sport’s greatest event, but the World Cup has become bloated and, as it expands to 48 teams, could collapse under the weight of its own self-importance. The recent Euros gave an insight into the likely direction of the World Cup, as quality was sacrificed for the sake of quantity. Track and field is the centrepiece of the Olympics and provided iconic moments from the era of Pat O’Callaghan to Ronnie Delaney to John Treacy to Sonia O’Sullivan. Rochelle touched the lives of so many, including people who never met her face to face.

Despite being Irish, Ron had never visited the Dingle Peninsula, and after years of bending his ear about it and Kerry, we’re here. But this is a joyous, stunningly beautiful place - I guarantee you’ll fall in love with it, as I did years ago. We travel on ‘Ulysses’, Irish Ferries’ super, luxury cruise ferry, admiring a calm, Irish Sea. At award-winning, Dingle Benners Hotel in Dingle town, we receive another Irish hotel welcome, from its staff and Dora, our driver/guide for the next two days. No choppiness as we leave Ireland on a much bigger boat than Billy’s - Irish Ferries’ Dublin Swift.

Back then, AMD was competing against Intel in the PC market, and it had Intel in its sights. Intel is still a significant player in the chip market but the PC and laptop sector has been in decline for some time. Partly because of its very success in that PC/laptop market, Intel has over those years seen its rivals overtake it. AMD is now the number two player in the burgeoning market for AI chips for data centres. “On one hand, Intel is witnessing the erosion of its traditional data centre business as chip buyers aggressively migrate towards AI chips.

The regatta at Schull in West Cork has been an annual event since its launch in 2014. Festival attendees can view the unique works of street art dotted around the city, and take part in workshops, view live art, and listen to live music. Plan aheadCork Podcast FestivalCork Opera House, September 4-15Chris Kent is among the lineup for the Cork Podcast Festival. Picture: Steve UllathorneThe Cork Podcast Festival will take place in the Cork Opera House from September 4 to 15. Visit the Cork Podcast Festival website for the schedule and to buy your tickets.

Nolan criticises high VAT rate ahead of forthcoming budgetIndependent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said there is an "absolutely compelling and irrefutable case for the reintroduction of the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality, retail, hairdressing and food led-services sectors in the forthcoming Budget." Nolan has been consistently engaging with The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) on the issue, and has previously warned Government that the economy faces the spectre of continuous rolling closures if the lower VAT rate of 9% is not reintroduced. Nolan said: “The latest data I have received from the RAI clearly and persuasively demonstrates the need for a guaranteed reintroduction of the lower VAT rate. “755 of these businesses are in Offaly, with tax debts of €11 million while in Laois there are 775 businesses with €12 million in warehoused debts. “If Government cares at all about offering a light at the end of this particular tax tunnel, then it needs to signal, clearly, immediately, and unequivocally that it will lower the VAT rate to 9%,” concluded Deputy Nolan.

While the sun won’t be splitting the rocks today, it will be a very sunny and warm weekend as temperatures soar to 25 degrees. It will be dull and misty today with some heavy bursts of rain possible this afternoon, as temperatures hit a very warm and humid 21 degrees. Tonight will bring rain, mainly affecting areas in the west and northwest as night time temperatures drop to 11 to 14 degrees. Many areas will be dry in the evening, as temperatures hit 22 degrees, dropping to 13 to 16 degrees during what will be a mainly dry night. On early next week, Met Éireann said that overnight rain will clear eastwards early on Monday with an improvement in conditions following.

Man charged over firearms incident at retail premises in DublinMichael BoltonA man has been arrested and charged by gardaí after an incident involving a firearm at a retail premises in Terenure, Dublin. Gardaí recovered a firearm following the incident on Friday, August 2nd. A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested on Wednesday and held in a Garda station in Dublin. He has since been charged and will appear before the courts on Thursday morning.

Vulnerable renters outside of Dublin face serious challenges, with almost no properties available for those who rely on the Housing Assistance Payment. The Simon Communities of Ireland could only find three properties to rent in 15 major areas outside of Dublin in June this year at either the standard or “discretionary” HAP rate.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has been recalled with MLAs returning from summer recess to take part in a special sitting at noon. Ms O’Neill said ministers are “unequivocally collective in our determination to say no to racism, and stand firmly united in terms of what we see unfolding in front of us”. “Today, we are collectively sending a strong and united message against violence, disorder and racism. “That violence is not representative of the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland. Everyone in Northern Ireland needs to do that.

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Executive ministers will gather at Stormont Castle on Thursday morning before the Northern Ireland Assembly sitting at noon. There was further disorder on Wednesday night, with police coming under attack in east Belfast. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it has asked for support, submitting a request to National Police Co-ordination Centre for additional officers from across the United Kingdom to support the policing operation. A senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officer earlier this week said a paramilitary element is suspected of co-ordinating violence in Belfast. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and parliamentary under-secretary of state Fleur Anderson speak to media at a community centre in Belfast on Wednesday (Rebecca Black/PA)On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hilary Benn condemned “racist violence” in Belfast in recent days and stressed that it “does not represent Northern Ireland”.

Paul Neilan and Eoin ReynoldsAn on-the-run police killer, who argued that he was facing an "extreme and draconian" sentencing regime if he was sent back to prison in the North, has consented to his surrender, the High Court has heard. However, before allowing Frane's release, the parole board in Northern Ireland must be satisfied that he no longer poses a risk to the community. Ms Quinlivan pointed out that a judge of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has described Indefinite Custodial Sentences as "extreme and draconian" and urged lawmakers to reconsider them. He said it is a well-established principle that preventing risk to the public cannot be the only objective of sentencing. A sentence requiring a person to prove they are no longer a risk to society would be unconstitutional in this jurisdiction, she said, and such a regime represents an egregious and fundamental defect in the sentencing regime in Northern Ireland.

The world’s oldest calendar, carved onto an ancient pillar around 12,000 years ago, has been discovered by archaeologists. The timekeeping system, unearthed at the Gobekli Tepe site in mountains of Anatolia in Turkey, suggests people were accurately recording dates 10,000 years before it was documented in Greece in 150 BC. This calendar also shows 12 lunar months with 11 additional days, the researchers said. “Possibly, their attempts to record what they saw are the first steps towards the development of writing millennia later.”The Gobekli Tepe site, which features the oldest-known man-made structures, was built by hunter-gatherers between 9,600 and 8,200 BC, predating Stonehenge by more than 6,000 years. The markings also appear to show both solar and lunar cycles, which the researchers said could represent the world’s earliest calendar, combining the motions of the sun and moon.

For me, it was a forced respite, an opportunity to reflect on the power of silence. Could I go 24 hours without speaking? Moreover, silence can increase the production of new cells in the hippocampus, the brain region associated with memory and learning. My 24-hour silence experiment taught me the value of pausing and reflecting before speaking. So, the next time you feel the urge to fill a gap with words, consider the power of silence.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange where gains in mega-cap stocks boosted indices. Signalling a continued pickup in investor sentiment, the “fear gauge” volatility index fell for a second day, having hit its highest level since March 2022 earlier in the week. READ MORELondonThe blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 1.8 per cent higher in its best showing in more than four months, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index closed 1 per cent higher. Bottler Coca-Cola HBC fell 1.5 per cent despite boosting its annual operating profit and revenue forecast and a higher first-half revenue. EuropeThe pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 1.5 per cent higher but remained below the key 500-point mark following the recent sell-off sparked by US recession fears.