NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news. 

IRELAND

Jason Smyth celebrates winning the Men's 100m - T13 at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. PA PA

• 1,706 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland.
• The Chief Medical Officer sought to reassure parents and students that schools have not been “a major source of disease transmission”.
• Derry sprinter Jason Smyth stormed to his sixth Paralympic gold medal.
• Dublin Airport issued an apology to passengers after many experienced significant delays today.
• Transport minister Eamon Ryan said that public transport will return to 100% capacity from next week.
• A cyclist died following a collision near Corr na Móna, Co Galway, today.
• The President led the tributes to journalist Rodney Rice who died at the age of 76 following a short illness.
• The Coombe Hospital asked the HSE to replace 50-year-old lifts due to mysterious heavy smoke.
• Christy Burke temporarily took up the role as chairman of the board of Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH), after David Hall resigned on Friday.

INTERNATIONAL

NASA MODIS satellite image showing Hurricane Ida as it strikes the coast of lower Louisiana. Planetpix / Alamy Live Planetpix / Alamy Live / Alamy Live

#AFGHANISTAN: The US said it destroyed an explosive-laden vehicle with an air strike in Kabul, hours after President Joe Biden warned of another terror attack in the capital as a massive airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans entered its last days.

#LOUISIANA: Evacuations continued as Hurricane Ida hurtled towards New Orleans. Ida was upgraded to a Category Four storm, staying on course to hit New Orleans with sustained winds of 209 kilometres per hour (or 130 miles per hour).

#PEN FARTHING: Ex-Royal Marine Pen Farthing succeeded in evacuating to the UK around 170 dogs and cats from an animal shelter in Afghanistan. But the privately funded charter flight was not carrying his 24 staff and dependents from the Nowzad shelter in Kabul.

PARTING SHOT

🥇 Jason Smyth has won his sixth gold medal after a dramatic photo finish in the T13 100m final #rtesport #paralympics #paraathletics

📱 Live updates - https://t.co/yvJaZMisVD…
📺Watch live - https://t.co/3fIvL3Jwwv pic.twitter.com/loDXV7N6Ka

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 29, 2021

Click here if you can’t see the tweet.

Veteran Irish sprinter Jason Smyth exploded out of the blocks to secure his sixth Paralympic title today.

The perfect start catapulted the Derry athlete to the front of the pack and he successfully fended off all challengers to win the dramatic race by just one-hundred of a second from Algeria’s Skander Djamil Athmani.

The 34-year-old’s extraordinary win was confirmed thanks to a photo finish.

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