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

IRELAND

Paramedic William Masterson injects the Covid-19 vaccination into the arm of Irish Army private Gareth Quin Sasko Lazarov Sasko Lazarov

• The Minister for Health has confirmed the locations for 37 vaccination centres as part of the country’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. 
• A further 821 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland this evening. 
• Talks on the proposals for Leaving Cert 2021 are continuing this evening after they had collapsed last week.
• A further 234 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Northern Ireland as the death toll reached 2,000. 
• A man who crossed over to the wrong side of the road 20 times whilst drink driving and then threatened to kill a concerned member of the public who confronted him has been jailed.
• The RSA has “categorically rejected” criticism of the cancellation of almost 500 driving tests last week due to cold and icy conditions.
• Businessman Declan Ganley and a telecommunications company he is both chairman and CEO of claimed before the High Court that they were “maliciously” defamed by broadcaster CNN.

INTERNATIONAL

Passengers arrive at London Heathrow's Terminal 5 from a 'red list' country. Dominic Lipinski Dominic Lipinski

#PFIZER: Israel’s largest healthcare provider has said that a study of more than half a million fully vaccinated Israelis indicated the Pfizer/BioNTech jab gave 94% protection against Covid-19.

#HOTELS: The first guests who will check into government-designated accommodation arrived in England as the UK’s hotel quarantine regime began today.

#WHO: Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed as the first female and first African head of the World Trade Organization by its 159 member-countries.

PARTING SHOT

Harry and Meghan in Los Angeles Misan Harriman / The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Misan Harriman / The Duke and Duchess of Sussex / The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Harry and Meghan have announced they are expecting a second child, with an image taken remotely from London having been released.

The couple put out a black and white photo of themselves, sat under a tree in Los Angeles, with Harry gazing at his wife and resting his hand on Meghan’s head as she lies in his lap cradling her bump.