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

IRELAND

A goldfinch lands on a feeder in a garden in Carrigaline, Co Cork. Don't forget to feed the birds this winter. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

• People travelling to Ireland from seven African nations to Ireland will have to get a pre-flight PCR test and quarantine at home for 10 days over variant concerns
• Nearly 9,000 people were in emergency accommodation in October as the homeless figures rose again for the fifth month in a row
• Everyone in Ireland over the age of 16 will be offered a Covid-19 vaccine booster
• The Defence Minister defended his department’s handling of the offer of two heavy-lift aircrafts and insisted he wasn’t aware of the full details of the proposal
• There are no plans to close hospitality or retail over Christmas, the Tánaiste said
• A bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland would cost hundreds of billions of pounds, and the cost would outweigh the public benefit, a report found
• Storm Arwen is bringing strong winds to Ireland, as Met Éireann warned of a risk of high seas and toppled trees.

WORLD

Edinburgh Castle lit up tonight with a message from the 'Festival of Kindness'. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#COVID VARIANT: The World Health Organisation officially designated the latest strain of Covid-19, found in South Africa, as a “variant of concern”, naming it Omicron.

#MIGRANTS: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has no regrets about publishing a letter to President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter proposing that France take back migrants who have crossed the Channel, his spokesman has said.

#BREXIT TALKS: The EU and the UK are resuming talks in a bid to settle the dispute between the two parties over the Northern Ireland Protocol in the aftermath of Brexit.

PARTING SHOT

After a week of what seems like relentless bad news, here’s a bright spark: sisters Ailbhe and Izzy Keane have been awarded the ‘Rising Innovator’ prize, which is awarded to exceptional female innovators across Europe under the age of 30.

Ailbhe and Izzy Keane are the founders of ‘Izzy Wheels’, which creates fashionable, colourful, personalised covers for wheelchairs. You can see why they caught people’s eye:

Incredibly honoured to be the winners of The EU Women Innovators Rising Stars Award!! 🤩🇪🇺✨@EU_Commission pic.twitter.com/sY6OdVQmoI

— Izzy Wheels (@izzywheels) November 25, 2021

If that’s not enough joy for you, the Late Late Toy Show is on tonight at 9.35pm – with a colourful theme of its own:

Andres Poveda Andres Poveda