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

IRELAND

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pulls a Christmas cracker with Alina Chorna (5), at a Christmas event for Ukrainians in Ireland in Dublin's Vicar Street venue PA PA

• The body of Private Seán Rooney, who was killed while on duty in Lebanon this week, was flown out of Beirut to be returned to his family tomorrow
• A group of Ukrainian refugees living in a hotel in Dundalk said they were being transferred across the country tomorrow
• Higher Education and Justice Minister Simon Harris said he would prioritise the latter portfolio until Helen McEntee returns from maternity leave
• A report said that most retail units at the “outdated” and “underperforming” St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in Dublin are too small, and the smaller units at the upper levels trade poorly
• Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he believed that issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol could be fixed before the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
• Two men were arrested following the seizure of a loaded semi-automatic pistol in Dublin

WORLD

A woman walks by a building destroyed by a russian rocket strike in Sviatohirsk. Celestino Arce Lavin / PA Celestino Arce Lavin / PA / PA

#UKRAINE: The president’s office said that Kherson was hit by Russian shelling, less than a week after power was restored to the city

#IRAQ: Gunmen in northern Iraq, where remnants of the Islamic State group are active, blew up a vehicle carrying policeman before opening fire killing nine

#UK: A teenager was charged with facilitating attempted illegal entry to the UK after four people died when a migrant boat capsized in the English Channel

#EU: Member states and parliamentarians announced an agreement for a major reform to the bloc’s carbon market

PARTING SHOT

PA PA
Argentina are Fifa World Cup champions following a dramatic face-off with France which ended in a penalty shoot-out.

It was a fairytale end for Lionel Messi, with this, his fifth World Cup being his last.

Despite a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé, it wasn’t to be for Les Bleus.

The 42′s Gavan Cooney has a breakdown of the Argentinian victory.