Five things you need to know today

Our men in Rio, bonus CAO points, housing and the fight for control of Aldi

Hillary Clinton – The Republican’s ideal candidate? Photograph: The New York Times
Hillary Clinton – The Republican’s ideal candidate? Photograph: The New York Times

A tense and frank meeting

The Olympic showdown we've all been waiting for took place yesterday when OCI president Pat Hickey took on Minister for Sport Shane Ross in a meeting over what exactly is to be done about this ticketing debacle. And after that first round heat in the Minister's hotel, the OCI president seems to have opened up a bit of a lead.

CAO points

A universities taskforce is now examining the potential for bonus points in some subjects after the introduction of 25 bonus points for higher level maths lead to a dramatic increase in the numbers taking the subject.

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The fight for Aldi

The next time you're walking down the neon-lit aisles of Aldi (the Aldi Nord chain at least, which is separate from the business here), filling your basket with €1 cans of sliced pork, spare a thought for the heirs to Theo Albrecht's company. They're locked into a bitter fight for control of the dicount firm – one that involves accusations concerning un-Aldi like lavish spending on art, fine wines and classic cars.

Housing

The Government's Housing Agency, which was last month given €70 million to buy houses, plans to assess about 1,000 private homes for sale over the next two years to determine their suitability for social housing.

100m Bolt

Usain Bolt became the first person ever to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100 metre race. The crazy thing about a 10 second race, Ian O’Riuordan points out, is that the celebrations seem to go on forever.

And finally...

If the Republicans are looking for a 1 percenter who will take care of corporate America, writes Maureen Dowd. Well then they need look no further than Hillary Clinton.