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

Ireland

People walk along the Great South Wall towards the Poolbeg lighthouse at Sandymount RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• The PSNI have named two of the victims of the Stephen’s Day collision which killed three people in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.
• The Taoiseach has said that he has no immediate plans to visit Irish peacekeepers abroad but he is hoping to visit “sometime next year”.
• The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation has estimated that 7 million international tourists came to Ireland this year, a 73% recovery compared to the pre-pandemic peak of 2019.
• Property developer Ballymore has secured planning permission for a new HQ for Guinness owner, Diageo in Dublin St James’s Gate.
• Gardaí have renewed their appeals for information following a road traffic collision that occurred on the N4 in Rathowen, Co Westmeath on 15 December.

International

Ukrainian servicemen hold a flag over the coffin of a comrade during a funeral ceremony in Kyiv

#THAILAND An Irish man taking a tour in western Thailand died today after falling out of a moving train, local police said.

#UKRAINE Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demand for “demilitarisation” and “denazification”, as well as the removal of the military threat to Russia, or “the Russian army (will) solve the issue”.

#US CONGRESS A Republican elected to US Congress in November is facing a growing clamour for his resignation today after admitting that he made up large parts of his biography – but is refusing to give up his seat.

#BOMB CYCLONE At least 49 people have died in the US due to blizzard conditions in the northeast of the country, with widespread power outages and travel delays also being seen.

Parting Shot

This morning, Noteworthy published their WASTE AWAY investigation into what happens to soft plastics in Ireland once it has been thrown in the recycling bin.

They discovered that almost all of Ireland’s household soft plastic is being shipped abroad, with the EPA warning that there is a danger of missing our 2025 plastic packaging recycling targets.

You can catch up with their investigation here.