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

IRELAND

Thousands in Dublin marching in solidarity with an Ireland For All demonstration Carl Kinsella / The Journal Carl Kinsella / The Journal / The Journal

• Large crowds gathered in Dublin this afternoon to show solidarity with migrants and refugees, standing in opposition to a wave of recent anti-immigration protests.  
• Minister for State Neale Richmond has called on AIB to appear before the Oireachtas Finance Committee to address why a debt owed by DJ Carey of €9.5m was reportedly written down to €60,000 in 2017.
• The PSNI are currently attending a security alert in Derry following the discovery of a suspicious device in the Corrody Road area to the southside of the city this morning.
• EU leader Ursula von der Leyen briefed the Taoiseach about the state of negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol ahead of talks with Rishi Sunak.
• Around 50 students attending a Co Cork National School have to walk down a busy stretch of the N28 to get to school making parents concerned for their safety.

INTERNATIONAL

Bulldozers clear rubble from destroyed buildings in Gaziantep, Turkey Hakan Akgun / Demiroren Visual Media/PA Images Hakan Akgun / Demiroren Visual Media/PA Images / Demiroren Visual Media/PA Images

#UKRAINE US Vice President Kamala Harris accused Russia of committing “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine and Russian forces of conducting “widespread and systemic” attacks on the country’s civilian population.

#DISASTER The deathtoll has risen to more than 44,000 from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, with rescue operations expected to mostly cease tomorrow.

#TRAFFICKING Bulgarian police have arrested seven people, an official said today, a day after the bodies of 18 Afghans were found in an abandoned truck outside the capital Sofia.

#MISSILE North Korea fired a suspected long-range ballistic missile today, according to South Korea’s military, its first test in seven weeks.

#BALLOON HUNT The US has ended its search for debris from an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down earlier this month as well as two other objects downed near Alaska and on Lake Huron.

PARTING SHOT

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The Carnival of Venice will draw to a close after this weekend, shortly after the annual festival’s Most Beautiful mask competition winner is selected.

Some reports estimate that the tradition dates as far back as the 12th century.

Traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen’s Day) and the end of the carnival season at midnight of Shrove Tuesday.