IRELAND

A bleak mid-winter sunrise over Sandymount Strand, Dublin. Sasko Lazarov / Rollingnews.ie Sasko Lazarov / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

• Health officials confirmed 16,986 cases of Covid-19 today, with 804 people with the virus in hospital, including 93 in ICU.
• Met Éireann has issued a national weather advisory, with temperatures expected to dip as low as -1 degrees tonight. 
• Police in Downpatrick have launched a murder investigation following the fatal stabbing of a man in the town.
• The coalition leaders are set to meet tomorrow to discuss the ongoing Covid-19 situation.
• Irish Rail has cancelled a number of services over the coming week due to “Covid-19 and close contact absences”.
• A number of third-level institutions have committed to introducing a domestic violence leave policy for staff in 2022.
• A teenager has drowned while swimming off the coast of Arranmore Island in County Donegal.
• A convent building and site beside Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital was sold by the Sisters of Mercy to the HSE for over €2.7m earlier this year – despite being listed for €1.9m just six months earlier.
• Parents of children aged 5-11 years can register them for a Covid-19 vaccination from today, the HSE has confirmed. 

THE WORLD

Tourists visiting the huge sand sculptured nativity scene on the city beach in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#BRAZIL President Jair Bolsonaro was rushed to hospital early this morning for treatment of a probable intestinal obstruction.

#NUCLEAR WEAPONS Five global nuclear powers have pledged to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict, in a rare joint statement ahead of a review of a key nuclear treaty later this year.

#ENGLAND Additional coronavirus measures in schools across England will not be in place “for a day longer than we need it”, its Education Secretary has promised, as concerns were raised about possible staff shortages across the sector.

#USA The woman who has accused Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexual assault agreed not to sue “other potential defendants” related to Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex crimes, a once-confidential document released today has shown.

#HONG KONG Citizen News shut down today, with journalists saying they no longer felt safe to publish after a rival outlet’s staff were arrested for “sedition”.

PARTING SHOT

It’s the perennial advice of doctors, dieticians and healthy nutritionists for years.

Mams and Dads across the country have bribed, threatened and cajoled kids for decades to get their five a day.

 But, as with all advice, writing for The Journal at the weekend, Dr Jolanta Burke explained that research on this advice disagrees and we may need much more than that to keep us healthy.

So today we ran a poll to find out: Do you eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day?

And the results are in: