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

IRELAND

Wind kite surfers out at red rocks in Howth today. Leon Farrell / RollingNews Leon Farrell / RollingNews / RollingNews

• People aged 18 to 49 can now receive their second Covid-19 booster vaccine. 
• Met Éireann issued two status yellow weather alerts, both of which will take effect from 10pm tonight.
• An appeal to find the family of an Irish person who died in England last month has been described as the “last opportunity” for somebody to come forward.
• Some 250 organ transplants took place in Ireland in 2022, the HSE has said.
• Free now will amend its technology fee, charging between €1 and €5 from January, the taxi company announced today.
• The final tally of passports issued in 2022 has reached 1,080,000 which sets a new annual record for the Irish Passport Service.
• Gardaí have arrested a man in his late teens in connection with a serious assault in Co Cork yesterday evening.
• Significant progress has been made at five peace wall sites in Northern Ireland, the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) said.

INTERNATIONAL

A teenage Pele gearing up for the 1958 World Cup. Imago / PA Images Imago / PA Images / PA Images

#RIP Pele, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time and a three-time World Cup winner, has died at the age of 82.

#POPEEMERITUS Former Pope Benedict is “lucid and alert”, and while the 95-year’s condition was “stable” it remained “serious” a day after Pope Francis revealed his predecessor was seriously ill.

#UKRAINE A fresh barrage of Russian missiles has battered Ukraine, wounding at least five people including a teenager and cutting electricity in the west.

#CHINA The EU’s health agency said it believed the introduction of mandatory Covid screenings of travellers from China was “unjustified,” despite a surge in cases in China.

#NETANYAHU Israel’s wily political survivor Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as Prime Minister with the backing of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.

#US Roads have reopened in the storm-besieged US city of Buffalo, as authorities continued searching for people who may have died or are stuck and suffering after last week’s blizzard.

PARTING SHOT

Diagram of the planets in the solar system with the planet's names. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

All the planets in the solar system lined up tonight and while some are difficult to see, “technically someone who has the skill could see all the planets”.

If you missed the opportunity to see them all tonight, never fear as you will have another chance tomorrow. 

But if you can’t wait until then, Jupiter is near the moon right now and can be seen, cloud permitting, until midnight. 

David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland, spoke to The Journal about what to expect tonight, tomorrow night, and in the weeks ahead. 

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