Five things you need to know today

Brazil seeks John Delaney ’s passport, OCI appoints legal firm in Rio and CAO offers out

1. Brazilian police seek to seize John Delaney's passportA Brazilian judge has authorised the country's police to seize the passport of Football Association of Ireland chief executive and Olympic Council of Ireland vice-president John Delaney as part of the investigation into alleged ticket touting at the Olympic Games.

Mr Delaney was one of six people listed on a warrant issued on Saturday by the same Rio court that authorised the arrest of Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) Pat Hickey last week as well as the detention of Irish man Kevin Mallon on August 5th.

2. OCI appoints legal firm in Brazil to 'represent its interests'

After a meeting of its executives that lasted over five hours, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) has decided to appoint a legal firm in Brazil “to represent its interests” there.

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It will also hire an international accountancy firm to review its controversial “ticketing arrangements” for the Rio Games.

The moves were announced just before 2:40am today after the first meeting of the council’s executive committee since the controversy around the alleged illegal sale of tickets in Brazil resulted in the arrest of OCI president Pat Hickey in Rio.

3. CAO offers: Sharp points rise for courses linked to recovery

Thousands of school-leavers who hope to study architecture, engineering, construction and business face sharp points increases following a surge in applications for courses linked to the economic recovery.

Overall, a record number of Central Applications Office (CAO) applicants – some 80,877 – are seeking college places this year.

The growth areas reflect sectors of the economy that are recovering as students flock to courses where most jobs growth is forecast.

4. Fiona Pender: Gardaí fear prosecution unlikely in case

Gardaí investigating the disappearance and presumed murder of Co Offaly woman Fiona Pender 20 years ago this week believe they know who killed her but fear he will never be charged.

The suspect lives abroad and could be extradited to Ireland only if Garda inquiries progress to the point that the Director of Public Prosecutions approved charges.

Garda sources said while a lot of new information has been gathered in recent years, it would be very difficult to secure a direction from the DPP to proceed with charges without first putting the information to the suspect.

5. The CSO is watching you

The Central Statistics Office has sought a change in EU law to allow it to use roaming data from mobile phones to help compile tourism statistics.

Phone location data is seen by data protection authorities worldwide as very sensitive because of the huge amount of private information it may give away about a person, their lifestyle and movements.

In a submission to the European Commission, the CSO indicates it would like to see legal definitions broadened so people would not have to give consent to the use of their location data for statistical purposes.