GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.

Reunited

1. In our main story today, reporter Órla Ryan speaks to Maria Arbuckle, who was sent from Armagh to St Patrick’s mother and baby home in Dublin in 1981, where she gave birth to her eldest child, Paul.

Paul was taken from her and put up for adoption, and Maria spent the next four decades trying to find her son.

Then, a Facebook friend request earlier this year changed her life forever.

Climate deal

2. Negotiations are running over at the COP26 summit in Glasgow where countries are working to reach an agreement on climate action.

Conference president Alok Sharma said yesterday afternoon that he wanted the conference to end in a “smooth and orderly” manner by the evening, but a deal is still to be reached.

The summit was due to end by 6pm but is following in the footsteps of previous COPs which have ran one or two days longer than planned.

Restrictions

3. As countries try to reach a climate deal in Glasgow, elsewhere in Europe, the latest wave of Covid-19 is sparking partial lockdowns and restrictions.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) said that 10 EU member states face a Covid situation of “very high concern”.

The EU’s diseases agency listed Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary,  Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia in its highest category of concern.

Ireland improved its rating this week, downgrading from the worst category to the “high concern” group. 

Winter Olympics

4. Further afield, a major Beijing Winter Olympics venue plans to tightly restrict attendance over Covid-19 concerns.

Beijing is set to host the Winter Olympics from 4 to 20 February next spring.

The National Aquatics Centre, the main curling venue, will allow “no more than 1,000 people” to attend its events, which equates to 20% of its capacity. 

Work from home

5. Back in Ireland, NPHET has advised the government to consider reinstating its advice to work from home wherever possible amid a “very high” rate of Covid-19 cases.

In his latest letter to the Minister for Health, Dr Tony Holohan said NPHET recommended that the government should consider extending the use of Covid certificates in settings where there is a “high risk of transmission through close contact or other activities”.

He told the Minister Stephen Donnelly that the incidence of Covid-19 is very high and increasing at a concerning rate.  

Power

6. Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan did not sanction an alleged €10 million payment from EirGrid to the ESB, a spokesperson for the Green Party leader told The Journal.

A Fianna Fáil TD alleged that EirGrid made a €10 million initial payment to the ESB on a €110 million contract last week, claiming the contract did not transpire following a court challenge, querying whether the money had been repaid, and asking if there was a “cosy arrangement” between EirGrid and ESB.

A spokesperson said Ryan did not approve such a payment, stating that the “minister did not sanction any specific spending”.

Gardaí

7. Trustees of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) have raised concerns over an alleged lack of transparency at the organisation, with similar concerns around governance having to some resignations in recent weeks. 

An addendum to the AGSI’s trustee report seen by The Journal outlines that trustees are “dissatisfied with the absence of any notes fully explaining all income and expenditure in the accounts”.

The committee said it had raised reservations regarding “certain financial issues and the lack of transparency and proper governance in relation to decisions made and the recording of same”. 

RIP

8. Businessman Glen M de Vries, who travelled to space with William Shatner last month, has been killed along with another man in a small plane crash.

De Vries, 49, and Thomas P Fischer, 54, were aboard a single-engine Cessna 172 that went down on Thursday in New Jersey. 

“We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries,” Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, tweeted. 

Britney Spears 

9. The conservatorship controlling Britney Spears’ life and career has officially been terminated.

A judge in Los Angeles ended the conservatorship, which started in 2008, in a decision made yesterday, giving the singer back her power over her own life after a long debacle.