Nphet last night gave the go-ahead for the removal of almost all Covid restrictions, including a return to normal opening hours for hospitality and the end of the use of the digital pass for pubs and restaurants. Photograph: iStock 3:36 Government to approve lifting of almost all Covid-19 restrictions today
US charges Belarus officials with piracy in forced landing of Ryanair plane US charges Belarus officials with piracy in forced landing of Ryanair plane

Suspects in UK citing ‘inhuman’ Irish jails to try halt extradition 3:20 Suspects in UK citing ‘inhuman’ Irish jails to try halt extradition

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‘India and China have the capacity to make vaccines at scale. Pharmaceutical companies should hand over their patents and allow companies in those countries to make these vaccines,” said Prof Maire Connolly. Photograph: Joe O’Shaughnessy Caution still needed despite pandemic progress, says global health expert
Independent TD Carol Nolan said thousands of very young children are ‘numb with the cold’ during the school day due to windows being kept open. Teachers and school managers need to strike ‘sensible’ balance on Covid, says Varadkar
The Covid-19 contact tracing app was launched in July, 2020. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire Covid tracker app used by few to identify close contacts - IMJ
Full coverage of the threat to the global environment
 
Patrick Freyne: Lipsynching with your shirt off. That’s a job now Hype House: The kids are all cargo-cult capitalists extracting value from the alienated labour of their own bodies

Netflix reality show Hype House reveals that jobs now include being sexy in 15-second chunks

Ozark returns this week for its final season, here’s why it’s a must-see Our oily protagonist Marty Byrde is a creep who thinks he’s the good guy – when he’s actually the villain. Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

Jason Bateman returns as the money-laundering creep in Netflix’s hit crime drama

ESB under investigation over electricity prices following complaints from rivals ESB’s power plant in Aghada, Co Cork was one of its three plants that earned profits of €2.3 million on July 15th and €4 million on September 9th. Photograph: David Creedon/Anzenberger

State energy firm says allegations ‘appear based on limited understanding’ of market

Diarmaid Ferriter: An Garda Síochána needs to confront difficult aspects of its history Osgur Breatnach: was wrongly convicted of the Sallins mail train robbery. He is still waiting for an apology for what he suffered because of what he termed in 2018 “a very strong culture in there . . . one of Blue Omerta”. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Apologies long overdue to those who suffered egregious behaviour of gardaí in 1970s

Brexit ends ‘landbridge’ route as Dublin Port records sharp fall in lorry freight The Stena Estrid ferry in Dublin Port. Overall freight volumes passing through the port fell by 5 per cent as freight unit volumes with Britain declined by 214,000, while volumes with mainland EU ports rose by 158,000. Photograph: Paul Faith/Getty Images

Port chief says there has been a ‘reset’ in trade between Ireland, Britain and EU

German clerical abuse survivors welcome criticism of former pope Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI denies all knowledge of abuse by priests during his four years as archbishop until 1982. Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images 2:17

Report says Benedict failed to tackle four abusing priests while archbishop of Munich

Look from perpetrator can be enough to make a woman drop case, support worker says Tara Clancy, a court support worker for women experiencing domestic violence outside Naas Courthouse. Photograph: Laura Hutton 3:29

Domestic violence court accompaniment worker suggests how system might improve

Kerry publican ‘confident this time’ as Covid restrictions likely to be eased Padruig O’Sullivan, proprietor of The Beaufort Bar in Beaufort, Co Kerry: ‘It’s about coming in and escaping from reality and the challenges of everyday living.’ Photograph: Valerie O’Sullivan 2:02

Gatherings in the Beaufort Bar have whiled away the long winter nights since 1841

Dublin City Council owed €38m in unpaid rent The council secured 12 repossession orders in the courts last year, while three ‘lump sum settlements’ of €30,500 in total were made. 3:40

Just over 64% of council’s 25,000 tenants in arrears and 41 owe more than €27,000

Johnson allies accused of intimidating MPs over no-confidence vote Conservative MP William Wragg: “A number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the prime minister.” Photograph: PRU/AFP via Getty 3:24
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PM ‘acting more like a mafia boss’ as pressures brought to bear on critics of behaviour

Andrew Conway and Munster intend to keep pedal to the floor against Wasps Munster’s Andrew Conway scores their first try against Connacht at the Sportsground, Galway, on New Year’s Day. Photograph: Inpho 4:24

‘It’s Europe in Thomond and there’s no getting away from it’

John FitzGerald: Innovation the only viable strategy to combat climate change An Audi e-tron Sportback electric vehicle. As one of the first companies out of the blocks on electric cars, Tesla helped accelerate the production of alternative electric models by its competitors. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP via Getty Images 4:26

No government wants to turn the clock back to 19th-century levels of energy consumption

Morley and McGinley take medical negligence cases over children’s deaths Deirdre Morley and Andrew McGinley with their three children Conor (9), Darragh (7) and Carla (3). The bodies of the three children were found in the family home in Newcastle, Co Dublin, on January 24th, 2020.

Husband says he is taking action because he needs to understand details around wife’s care

Irish firms urged to boost growth by having a strategy for going digital Going digital can open up a world of new business opportunities. Photograph: iStock
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