Simon Delestre of France rides his horse Napoli Du Ry in the equestrian individual jumping competition, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/ Dmitry Lovetsky)

THESE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#LONDON 2012: Ireland enjoyed some highs and lows in today’s Games: a spectacular performance by Katie Taylor won her a place in the women’s 60kg boxing final tomorrow, while Cian O’Connor secured a bronze medal in showjumping. The dream is over for Alistair Cragg is out of the men’s 5,000m after he finished 17th in this morning’s heat, but Belfast light-flyweight Paddy Barnes can still become Ireland’s fifth medallist when he takes on Devendro Singh Laishram in his 49kg quarter-final at 8.45pm tonight. (Check out TheScore.ie‘s full round up of Day 12 so far.)

#EUROZONE: German industrial production and exports dropped in June – underlining concerns that Europe’s debt crisis is increasingly weighing on the largest economy in the bloc. Imports were 3 per cent lower in June, following a 6.2 per cent increase the previous month.

#FUEL: The latest survey from exploration company Providence has suggested there might be another significant fuel source off the coast of west Cork. In an update on the Drombeg Prospect, the company has said there is significant potential that one of its licence areas in the Porcupine Basin contains oil or gas.

Meanwhile, Dublin-listed DCC is to buy BP’s liquid petroleum gas (LPG) distribution business in the UK for €50 million.

#QUINN: Seán Quinn has said the latest estimated costs for the administration of the former Quinn Insurance business were “shocking” – and suggested the Government had been misled by administrators, reports RTÉ News. Yesterday, the High Court heard the call on the Insurance Compensation Fund may exceed €1.6 billion – hundreds of millions more than the original estimate.

#SYRIA: The Syrian government launched an assault on the country’s second-largest city Aleppo earlier today in an attempt to wrestle back control from rebels. While the army has said it has now regained power over the area, the opposition Free Syrian Army deny this – saying that fighting is ongoing.

Amnesty International has released satellite images showing the increased use of heavy weaponry in and around the densely populated city. Director Colm O’Gorman called on both sides in the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian, warning of “devastating consequences for civilians” if Aleppo was turned into a battleground.

THINGS WE LOVED:

• Did you see that amazing photograph of the moon interlinked with the Olympic rings under Tower Bridge in London? No? …Well, for those who did, this in an interesting insight as to how that shot was captured.
• Every Irish resident has a right to moan about the “unseasonable weather”. But, as you shake your fists at the sky, do spare a thought for the poor confused souls living in Johannesburg, South Africa… where it began snowing this week.
• TCD’s nanoscience department has put out this surreal video of how they set up a Nano-Olympics. It’s kind of amazing:

Uploaded by tcdnanoscience

THINGS WE SHARED:

• Meet the bronies: men (and women) who are obsessed with the newest cartoon manifestations of My Little Pony. As might be expected, bronies come in for a certain amount of mockery, but that doesn’t stop them sporting unicorn horns and multicoloured wigs at conventions. Check out the bronies in all their glory…
• Editor in chief of GQ Russia writes in the New York Times about how feminist punk band Pussy Riot are marking the outer edge of Russian culture and, as such, becoming the most important artists in the country today. However, he writes, instead of a world tour – they face prison sentences.
• If you haven’t seen the Dark Knight yet, this high tech Batman-inspired home theatre (which costs just $2 million) is the only way to watch it.

UCD Students’ Union is marching with LGBT Noise on August 12 at 3pm fot March for Marriage – to show the government that “students want euqual rights for everyone”. Campaigns and Communications Vice-President Paddy Guiney has released ‘Hand in Hand’, a new video for their equality campaign…

Uploaded by Paddy Guiney