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

Ireland

People with umbrellas bear the brunt of the rainy weather conditions in Dublin, as the Omicron Variant surge continues. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• The trial of two politicians and two hoteliers has heard claims that “good people had to resign” after the public was “whipped up into hysteria” following the event. 
• There were more Covid-19 outbreaks associated with school pupils and staff in the second half of last year than any other setting, excluding private homes.
• Pressure due to rising hospitalisations may lead to the cancellation of elective procedures, says HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid.
• HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid has said that Irish hospitals are under “relentless pressure” as over 8,500 HSE staff are currently out sick due to the Omicron variant.
• Health officials have reported an additional 23,817 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland today.
• High risk children between the ages of 5-11 were passed over for vaccination, despite the system opening in late December, due to a scheduling issue at several vaccination centres.
• The Stormont Assembly is set to be recalled early from its Christmas recess to discuss the Omicron surge.
• The Government has passed regulations doubling the cost of a fixed charge ticket for anyone who parks on a footpath, cycle or bus lane. 
• A District Court judge in County Cork has refused to grant free legal aid to individuals who were fined for breaching the pandemic regulations last year.

International

The parade in the Old Town is seen during the Three Kings celebration on 06 January, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#WASHINGTON DC President Joe Biden has marked the anniversary of the 6 January storming of the US Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters with a dark plea for Americans to defend democracy from a future of violence and election cheating. 

#AUSTRALIA He is the tennis world number one with more than $150 million in prize money to his name — but this year Melbourne is reportedly putting Novak Djokovic up in a hotel best known for immigrant detentions and maggot-ridden food.

#KAZAKHSTAN A Moscow-led military alliance has dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan as police said dozens were killed trying to storm government buildings.

#ANTARTICA A team of scientists are sailing to “the place in the world that’s the hardest to get to” so they can better understand how much and how fast seas will rise because of global warming eating away at Antarctica’s ice. 

#EUROPE A complaint by Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee that he was discriminated against when the Christian owners of a Belfast bakery refused to make him a cake iced with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage” has been ruled inadmissible by the European Court of Human Rights.

PARTING SHOT

O’Donoghue’s in Dublin city centre is a well loved boozer and some here at The Journal have enjoyed much needed rest and recuperation inside it’s traditional pub walls. 

But many, not just this correspondent, were surprised to see that the Taiwanese army are preparing to defend it with their lives.

This military incursion is not thought to have been precipitated by the minimum pricing measures but instead is part of Taiwan’s preparations for war.

Urban warfare demo in today’s #Taiwan military drills - some 90% of the population live in cities so platoons train specifically for this scenario. In a mock up town, troops try to storm buildings guarded by snipers. & of course there’s a 7/11 for added realism pic.twitter.com/rgSitrayAJ

— Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) January 6, 2022