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

IRELAND

Noah from Angel Garden Community preschool in Mayfield meets Santa Claus at Cork City Council's Christmas foyer. Darragh Kane Photography Darragh Kane Photography

• A former soldier was found guilty of the murder of his friend and former Defence Forces army captain Patrick O’Mahony last year.
• Luas Green Line services “gradually” started to resume this evening after a power outage.
• Defence Minister Helen McEntee defended the Government’s handling of the drone incident during the visit of President Zelenskyy and sought to reassure the public that it is being “taken extremely seriously”.
• Hundreds of AIB staff reached remote work agreements following a “significant backlash” over return-to-work policies.
• A man appeared in court in Northern Ireland charged with terror offences linked to a cross-border police investigation into a planned attack on a mosque.
• Government ministers are “worried” about the number of people who are not vaccinated against flu as cases continued to rise.
• The telecoms regulator said it has blocked 131 million scam phone calls since its crackdown on the practice began.

INTERNATIONAL

#VENEZUELA: The South American state condemned an “act of international piracy” and “blatant theft” after the United States seized a large oil tanker off its coast.

#EUROVISION: The winner of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest has handed back their trophy because of Israel’s continued participation.

#TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR The publication has revealed a collective as its Person of the Year – it’s the Architects of AI. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk are among the entrepreneurs who have “grabbed the wheel of history,” the magazine said.

PARTING SHOT

So you might be thinking after Ireland’s amazing wins over Portugal and Hungary that it’s about time to invest in a World Cup ticket.

The 48-team tournament will be hosted across North America, encompassing the US, Canada and Mexico next summer – but as Gavin Cooney notes for our friends at The42, there are some things to take into consideration.

These two are all too up for it. PA PA

The advice from informed sources is to apply for what’s termed a Cat 3 ticket in the lottery, if you are concerned about getting your money back if Ireland don’t qualify. But legal issues abound in various ways, including whether you’re looking to resell in Mexico, or due to that whole matter about the US restricting its immigration policies.

You can read more here.