The Ombudsman for Children has said that any new Covid-19 measures around children socialising must be appropriate and proportionate as the last 18 months have already been extremely stressful for them.

Sexual harassment and bullying are widespread in Australia's parliament, affecting both MPs and staff, a high-profile inquiry into the institution's "sexist culture" has found.

Britain's Prince Charles has acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery", describing it as something "which forever stains our history", during the ceremony marking Barbados' historic transition to a republic.

The head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said Covid-19 vaccines will continue to provide protection against new variants.

China has warned that the Omicron Covid-19 variant would cause challenges in hosting next February's Winter Olympics in Beijing.

A new report has found that marginalised women experience inaccessible services, dismissive attitudes of healthcare providers and a lack of cohesive supports in Ireland's health service.

The beginning of the pandemic fuelled the rise of the social media platform TikTok, and in turn provided a flourishing marketplace for some small Irish businesses.

Australian authorities have confirmed that a person with Covid-19 had the new Omicron variant after disclosing that the person had been active in the community, but urged calm as they weighed up the severity of the strain.

New mask mandates and other measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron variant come into force in England, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson eyes an expanded booster programme to help increase protection against Covid-19.

All positive cases of Covid-19 identified in Ireland since 1 November are being contacted directly and brought forward for testing as part of measures aimed at detecting cases of the Omicron variant.

NASA has indefinitely postponed a spacewalk planned for today by two astronauts outside the International Space Station, citing a "debris notification" for the orbiting research laboratory.

Four people, including a baby and a three-year-old boy, were killed in a fire at an abandoned bank occupied by squatters in central Barcelona.

Facebook Ireland has set aside more than €1 billion to meet potential fines the company may be facing from regulators.

The details of a redress scheme for thousands of homeowners whose properties were built with defective blocks will go to Cabinet this morning.

Lawyers for Web Summit Chief Executive Paddy Cosgrave have said claims made by a former director of the company in court documents are "categorically denied".

A new schools' antigen helpline had received 7,000 requests for dispatch of test kits by 4pm today, the Health Service Executive has said.

The Department of Health has confirmed 4,607 new cases of Covid-19. There are 579 people in hospital with the virus, of whom 115 are in ICU.

Doctors in Ireland and Africa are calling for the Irish Government to push for greater access to vaccines for Africa.

A Cork County Councillor has been found guilty of assaulting his brother and nephew.