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

IRELAND

Crowds of Christmas shoppers walking down Grafton Street in Dublin, the day before the Government's introduction of new Covid-19 restrictions. Sasko Lazarov Sasko Lazarov

• A Red wind warning was issued for Cork, Clare and Kerry with orange or yellow warnings in place for the rest of country due to the impending Storm Barra.
• All schools and third level institutions in Red and Orange warning areas were advised not to open tomorrow because of the approaching storm.
• The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) will reopen tomorrow for people who are laid off as a result of the latest Covid-19 restrictions.
• Public health officials confirmed 2,950 new cases of Covid-19 this evening.
• The Department of Foreign Affairs warned it could have to process 1.75 million passport applications next year due to “significant pent-up capacity demand”.
• The Taoiseach said that NPHET will “always be facilitated by government in terms of articulating public health” following reports that the body will need to coordinate with the government before giving media interviews.
• The Department of Education advised that children should not be excluded from school “in the first instance” when implementing public health measures around face masks.
• A man who sexually assaulted a woman 12 days into a suspended sentence for attacking another woman was jailed for three years consecutive to a two-year reactivated sentence.
• A Dublin schoolboy was given a six-month sentence for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old friend in a park.
• New data from the Centra Statistics Office showed that 62% of internet users saw online content they considered to be “untrue or doubtful” in 2021.

INTERNATIONAL

Pope Francis gives a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back to Rome after visiting Cyprus and Greece. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#INDONESIA: Rescuers are continuing to search for 27 missing people after a volcanic eruption on Java island killed at least 15 people.

#UK: Two UK Police officers who took pictures of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman have been jailed for two years and nine months. 

#GREECE: Pope Francis ended his visit to Greece by encouraging its young people to follow their dreams and not be tempted by the consumerist “sirens” of today that promise easy pleasures.

#MYANMAR: A court in Myanmar has sentenced the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to four years in prison after finding her guilty of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions.

PARTING SHOT

100 years ago today, in the early hours of 6 December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in 10 Downing Street.

It formally ended the War of Independence, setting the stage for British withdrawal from most of Ireland and the handover of power to an independent Irish government.

To mark the anniversary, a new exhibition, The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives, has opened in Dublin Castle.

The exhibition focuses on the 1921 truce between Irish and British forces and the Treaty negotiations that followed and includes, for the first time ever, a public presentation of both the Irish and British copies of the Treaty document.

It will run up until 27 March 2022. Tickets are available from the National Archives website.

It's the first time the Anglo-Irish Treaty has gone on public display since it was signed #OnThisDay in 1921. The exhibition is in partnership with @RIAdawson, @NLIreland and @opwireland with records from the collections of @dfarchives and @ucdarchives. #Treaty21 pic.twitter.com/6FNfbYAqS9

— National Archives, Ireland (@NARIreland) December 6, 2021