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

IRELAND

Sean McAnuff of Ireland, Maxim Maximov of Bulgaria and Furkan Akar of Turkey during the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2025 in Dresden, Germany. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

• Five men who were arrested this week as part of a Garda and Revenue joint operation targeting international organised crime appeared before a special sitting of Killarney District Court charged with conspiracy to import drugs.
• Incoming Taoiseach Micheál Martin has announced Ireland’s endorsement of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, a move that has been criticised by some in the Opposition for the broad scope of the meaning.
• A man walked up to People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy and threatened to “slit” his partner’s throat as the politician canvassed about abortion laws, a court heard.
• An investigation was underway after an army van crashed through a wall at Collins Barracks in Co Cork.
• Simon Harris defended claims that new junior minister positions in the next government are “jobs for the boys”, claiming Fine Gael voters expressed their support for the measure, included his party’s manifesto, at the ballot box.
• Two defendants accused of murdering a man whose body was allegedly thrown off the Sliabh Liag cliffs in Donegal each claimed the other “did it”, a barrister told the Central Criminal Court.
• A trainee soldier was taken to hospital when an explosive training device detonated in an army barracks.
• Four Dublin boys aged 14 to 16 were charged with dangerous driving and travelling in a stolen car which “rammed” with two garda vehicles and collided with a lamppost in Co Kildare earlier this week.

INTERNATIONAL

A Houthi supporter shouts slogans during an anti-U.S and Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#ISRAEL: The Israeli security cabinet voted to agree to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, marking a major turning point in the conflict and halting wide-scale fighting and bombardment in Gaza’s deadliest-ever war.

#TIKTOK:  The US Supreme Court backed a law going into effect that would ban the social media app TikTok in the United States. 

#USA: Donald Trump’s inauguration is to be held indoors due to forecasted freezing temperatures, the US president-elect confirmed.

PARTING SHOT

Irish actor Barry Keoghan Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

IRISH ACTOR BARRY Keoghan is to lead a campaign to advocate for family-based care for children worldwide, alongside the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Lammy announced the UK government’s plan today, which aims at working with governments around the world “to progressively end the use of children’s institutions”.

Read the full article here.