Catch-up with what you've missed today with our evening briefing

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

IRELAND

The jailing of the kingpins of the Collopy drug gang for eight years could signal the collapse of their crime empire. The Collopys first got involved in the illicit drug trade in the late 1990s just as the notorious Limerick gang feud began to explode.

Ireland is facing an unexpected bill of around €280m for EU membership as a result of our booming economy.

A gun has been found hidden in bushes close to a community centre, police in the North have said. The weapon was recovered near the centre in the Ballycolman estate in Strabane.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has laid the blame at local authorities for the delay in building social houses in the Dáil today.

The leader of the SDLP has followed the Taoiseach in suggesting a united Ireland must now be looked at in the wake of Brexit.

Gardaí are to trawl through social media sites to see if Marco Velocci left any indication of his thoughts or plans in the time leading up to yesterday's suspected murder-suicide.

WORLD

A man is being held under armed police guard in central Brussels after wires were spotted hanging from his coat.

Amnesty International claims to have a video showing the beheading of a boy by an armed opposition group in northern Syria.

At least five people have been stabbed and a number of others injured after "unacceptable" violence broke out in four London areas as soaring temperatures gripped the British capital.

SPORT

The Premier League, Football Association and English Football League on Wednesday announced a joint initiative to use football’s existing laws to stamp out bad behaviour.

Davy Fitzgerald has been admitted to hospital for tests related to a health concern. The Clare hurling manager checked into a clinic in Galway last night and was transferred to a hospital in Dublin this morning.

BUSINESS

The Bank of Ireland is closing eight branches in the North. Branches in Castlereagh, Draperstown, Antrim, Belleek, Castlederg, Newtownards, Maghera and in Donegall Square South behind Belfast City Hall are to shut on a phased basis starting in the autumn.

Volkswagen shares have soared after the German car giant revealed its first-half earnings before charges related to its emissions scandal were "significantly higher" than market forecasts.

ANALYSIS

One of Ireland’s leading providers of homecare has taken inspiration from Holland to create this country’s first purpose-built dementia community, writes Evelyn Ring

LIFESTYLE

Cobh mother Sheila Devlin Mulligan tells Olivia Kelleher about her life raising two children with Angelman’s Syndrome.

VIDEO

The English Market in Cork has launched a start-up stall initiative to foster fledgeling food businesses.

VIRAL

Kerry woman Sarah Linehan was walking down Banna Strand on Sunday evening when she happened across a scene that wouldn’t have been out of place in a holiday movie. After snapping a man proposing to his girlfriend from afar, Sarah then realised she had an absolutely astounding photo of the moment. Now she wants to find them to give the photo to the couple.

When Jayson Coakley from Aberdeen’s mam left him a note asking him to hang some stuff out on the line (taking advantage of the good drying, no doubt), he saw the opportunity for a little fun.

TECHNOW

GAMING: Life is Strange is being given away for free by the developers so you too can get hooked on this teenage drama with a sci-fi twist.

MOVIES/TV: Honestly, I'm pretty surprised that Halt and Catch Fire is still running. While it makes for compelling viewing mostly due to some great performances from the likes of Lee Pace and Kerry Bishé the audience numbers were incredibly low.

TECH: There have been rumours that the Galaxy Note 7 will be usable underwater, but now it’s being claimed that you’ll be able to use the S Pen underwater.

SHOWBIZ

Stranger Things debuted on Netflix last week, bringing a supernatural tale of unusual events in small town America in the 80s to our streaming devices.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

Cork mother Nicole Duggan was at the end of her tether when her son Riley’s favourite Angry Birds toy went missing. Two-and-a-half-year-old Riley has autism and is non-verbal, so it can be hard for him to take to new toys. But McDonald’s made an amazing gesture that saved the day.