Post mortem examinations are due to be carried out on the bodies of a father and son who were discovered at a house in Co Donegal yesterday afternoon.

President Michael D Higgins has extended his deepest sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones to Covid-19 in 2021.

At least 37 people have died after an overcrowded night ferry caught fire in Bangladesh, police said, as terrified passengers leaped overboard to escape the blaze.

Ireland's PCR testing system has come "under pressure in the past 48 hours" but will continue to operate throughout the Christmas period, Damien McCallion, HSE Vaccination Lead has said.

Omicron's rise has led to another pandemic-tinged Christmas for billions, with Santa's arrival and longed-for family reunions overshadowed by the prospect of yet more Covid restrictions.

Department stores Brown Thomas and Arnotts are to be sold as part of a €4.7bn deal that will see their parent, Selfridges Group, acquired by a Thai and Austrian consortium.

Former US President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block the release of White House records to a congressional committee investigating the 6 January assault on the Capitol by his supporters.

Two Hong Kong universities have removed sculptures marking Beijing's 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square democracy protesters, as authorities steadily erase all remaining traces of the deadly event from the southern Chinese territory.

Alec Baldwin has thanked supporters for their "best wishes and strength" during the holiday season but said "not a day goes by" that he does not think of the death of Halyna Hutchins.

Sleeping on mattresses in a Belarusian warehouse, hundreds of Middle Eastern migrants are still clinging to the hope of a future in western Europe as the year draws to a close.

Two patients have died after a fire broke out in an intensive care unit of an infectious diseases hospital, typically used to treat Covid patients, in Astrakhan in southern Russia.

Greyhound Racing Ireland is planning to open four new regional facilities across the country for the rehoming of retired racing greyhounds.

A Minnesota jury has found former police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop at which she mistakenly discharged her handgun instead of her Taser.

A further 119,789 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the UK as of 9am today, the government said, a new record for daily reported cases.

The Department of Health has reported 7,411 new cases of Covid-19.

Italy has tightened restrictions to curb surging Covid-19 infections, including banning all public New Year's Eve celebrations, as daily infections hit a record high, the government said.

Princess Charlene of Monaco, who has been receiving specialised care outside the principality, is still some months away from a full recovery, the palace said.

Reporter Laura Fletcher speaks to some of those isolating at home this Christmas.

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is less likely to result in severe disease and hospital admission, according to government public health experts in the UK.

Britain's Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released the first picture of their daughter Lilibet, with Meghan Markle holding her up in an image on their "family holiday" card.