The 5 at 5: Monday

EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five biggest stories of the day.

1. #VACCINE: The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech has been recommended for approval for use in the European Union, paving the way for people in Ireland to begin receiving the vaccine.  

2. #ESSEX: Members of a million-pound people-smuggling ring could be facing life behind bars for the manslaughter of 39 migrants.

3. #THE NORTH: Schools in Northern Ireland will reopen after the Christmas break, Northern Ireland’s Education Minister Peter Weir confirmed after speculation they would remain closed in January. 

4. #POST: The disruption to international supply lines via Britain will seriously impact last-minute post to and from Ireland to Britain and the rest of Europe, An Post has said.

5. #NO TRAVEL: British Airways arranged a last-minute flight to Dublin from London Heathrow last night after hundreds of passengers were nearly left stranded due to an apparent overbooking of an earlier flight.