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

IRELAND

The Finglas Covid-19 test centre has recorded the highest positivity rate of all seven walk-in test centres - with a 5.2 per cent rate among those who came for testing. Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

• Health officials confirmed 443 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland today and nine further deaths. 
• Three women today absconded from a mandatory quarantine hotel in Dublin but returned to the hotel of their own accord following an “interaction” with officers.
• Two people died and two are injured following a crash involving three cars in Louth earlier today. 
• Education Minister Norma Foley said the decision to shift to an age-based vaccine roll-out is not “a value judgement” on any profession, as teachers’ unions continue to call for their members to be prioritised.
• The Alliance Party leader proposed a recall of the Stormont Assembly, following days of violence and disorder in parts of Northern Ireland.
• The killers of Limerick man Jason Corbett, Molly and Tom Martens, may apply for bail tomorrow while they consider a plea bargain offer of manslaughter or facing a full retrial on second degree murder charges. 
• Technological University Dublin said its Tallaght campus was the victim of a “significant” ransomware attack last week. 

THE WORLD

Waves crash over the walls next to Seaham Lighthouse in Durham. PA PA

#FREE TRAVEL: New Zealand approved quarantine-free travel with Australia, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today, completing a two-way corridor for travel between the largely Covid-free neighbours.

#ECONOMIC RECOVERY: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the eurozone economy would expand faster than previously expected in 2021, but Europe will be slower than the US to recover from the pandemic shock.

#NETANYAHU: Israel’s president named prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the party leader to try to cobble together a governing majority.

PARTING SHOT

Across Ireland, major debates are taking place about the future of a shared island and the possibility of a united Ireland.

But what about the reality for people living in Northern Ireland right now?

Too often the concerns of young people are overlooked in a conversation dominated by the major parties of unionism and republicanism.

As part of The Good Information Project, we’re going to host a discussion this Thursday on mental health, education, housing discrimination and cultural issues like languages and discrimination. We will be joined by a panel of young voices from a variety of backgrounds, to find out what solutions they see for the North.

Interested? Sign up now to join the live panel discussion