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

IRELAND

Paramedic William Masterson injects the Covid-19 vaccination into the arm of Irish Army private Gareth Quin Sasko Lazarov Sasko Lazarov

• The Minister for Health has confirmed the locations for 37 vaccination centres as part of the country’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. 
• A further 821 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland this evening. 
• Talks on the proposals for Leaving Cert 2021 are continuing this evening after they had collapsed last week.
• A further 234 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Northern Ireland as the death toll reached 2,000. 
• A man who crossed over to the wrong side of the road 20 times whilst drink driving and then threatened to kill a concerned member of the public who confronted him has been jailed.
• The RSA has “categorically rejected” criticism of the cancellation of almost 500 driving tests last week due to cold and icy conditions.
• Businessman Declan Ganley and a telecommunications company he is both chairman and CEO of claimed before the High Court that they were “maliciously” defamed by broadcaster CNN.

INTERNATIONAL

Passengers arrive at London Heathrow's Terminal 5 from a 'red list' country. Dominic Lipinski Dominic Lipinski

#PFIZER: Israel’s largest healthcare provider has said that a study of more than half a million fully vaccinated Israelis indicated the Pfizer/BioNTech jab gave 94% protection against Covid-19.

#HOTELS: The first guests who will check into government-designated accommodation arrived in England as the UK’s hotel quarantine regime began today.

#WHO: Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed as the first female and first African head of the World Trade Organization by its 159 member-countries.

PARTING SHOT

Harry and Meghan in Los Angeles Misan Harriman / The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Misan Harriman / The Duke and Duchess of Sussex / The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Harry and Meghan have announced they are expecting a second child, with an image taken remotely from London having been released.

The couple put out a black and white photo of themselves, sat under a tree in Los Angeles, with Harry gazing at his wife and resting his hand on Meghan’s head as she lies in his lap cradling her bump.

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More